Ne Kunda Nlaba

Last updated
Ne Kunda Nlaba
Born1982
Kinshasa
NationalityCongolese
CitizenshipDemocratic Republic of the Congo
Occupation(s)producer, director, screenwriter, actor, and political scientist.
Notable workAbeti Masikini: Le Combat d'Une Femme

Ne Kunda Nlaba (born 1982 in Kinshasa in Democratic Republic of the Congo) is a Congolese film producer, director, screenwriter, actor, and political scientist. He owns and is the CEO of his film production company, Labson Bizizi-cine Kongo Ltd., the film distribution company Afrika Bizizi Distribution Ltd., and the creator of Bizizi Box. [1] [2] [3] [4]

Contents

Early life

Ne Kunda Nlaba began his artistic career as a child performing in plays and reciting poetry in primary and secondary school in Kinshasa in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. He won best actor trophies from school drama competitions. He began directing and giving drama training at age 16 to pupils from Baraka Primary School in Kinshasa, where he won prizes for Best Director and Best Performance for plays he had written, such as "Cri de Détresse et d’Espoir" and "L’Ivresse du Tresor".

He made his first film appearance as a lead actor in a short film “Un Virus a l'École” directed by Alain Ndontoni in 1998 in Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of the Congo.

Nlaba acted in several plays and performances including "Shella" (1998), "Pasteur Contre Evangéliste" (1999) with the Heaven Boyz Theatre Company, "Cri de Détresse et d’Espoir" (2005), and "Nsengane" ("Tale") (2007) with his own theatre company Virunga Theatre. He also participated in creating contemporary dance shows such as "Na Nini?" and "Bataille Sans Fin" with the Diba Dance Company of choreographer Jean-Marie Musungayi while working as their production manager.

Nlaba founded a theater company, "Virunga Theatre", and a Cultural Centre, "Labson Cultur'arts" in Kinshasa in 2004. He then created Festival Solo (also known as Mosi), a one-man performance festival with its first edition in 2005 and second edition in 2007 in Kinshasa.

In 2006, Nlaba began working with Canal 5 Television as a marketing/sales agent and presenter, and then joined Mbongi'Eto Cultural Centre with the griot Ne Nkamu Luyindula, and the project Kiamvu-Le Pont as well, as a communication officer, while still working as an actor.

In 2007, he founded a film production company Labson Bizizi-Cine Kongo, which began his film career in Kinshasa, and produced his first short horror film "The Next" in 2009 in London, a year after moving there. He produced his first documentary "The Steel Pan: The Spiritual Musical Instrument of the 20th Century" in 2010, which was screened at Montreal Black Film Festival in Montreal, Canada in 2011. He produced his first drama feature film "Cherie Bondowe" in 2012, while studying Film Production and Film Studies at University of West London, United Kingdom.

Nlaba co-directed "Abeti Masikini: Le Combat d'Une Femme" in 2015 with Laura Kutika. [5] In 2015, he established a new film distribution company in London, Afrika Bizizi Distribution Ltd., dedicated to distributing "high quality and professional" African films made by African filmmakers, and also films about Africa produced by non-African filmmakers.

Nlaba intends to use his career experience to express his world view and to use his films to connect with the African public and with the public worldwide. [6]

Filmography

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Machérie Ekwa Bahango</span> Congolese filmmaker

Machérie Ekwa Bahango is a filmmaker from the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Her first feature film Maki’la premiered at the Berlinale 2018. Her movie Sema advocated for women's rights and thematised the issue of sexual violence. It won an award as "Best International Film" at the DC Independent Film Festival 2020 in Washington.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kinshasa</span> Capital and the largest city of DR Congo

Kinshasa, formerly named Léopoldville until 30 June 1966, is the capital and largest city of the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Once a site of fishing and trading villages along the Congo River, Kinshasa is now one of the world's fastest-growing megacities. Kinshasa's 2024 population was estimated at 17,032,322. It is the most densely populated city in the DRC, the most populous city in Africa, the world's fourth-most-populous capital city, Africa's third-largest metropolitan area, and the leading economic, political, and cultural center of the DRC. Kinshasa houses several industries, including manufacturing, telecommunications, banking, and entertainment. The city also hosts some of DRC's significant institutional buildings, such as the Palais du Peuple, Palais de la Nation, Court of Cassation, Constitutional Court, Cité de l'Union Africaine, Palais de Marbre, Stade des Martyrs, Immeuble du Gouvernement, Kinshasa Financial Center, and multiple federal departments and agencies.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Music of the Democratic Republic of the Congo</span>

Congolese music is one of the most influential music forms of the African continent. Since the 1930s, Congolese musicians have had a huge impact on the African musical scene and elsewhere. Many contemporary genres of music, such as Kenyan Benga and Colombian Champeta, have been heavily influenced by Congolese music. In 2021, Congolese rumba joined other living traditions such as Jamaican reggae music and Cuban rumba on UNESCO's "intangible cultural heritage of humanity" list.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Soukous</span> African music genre

Soukous is a genre of dance music originating from the Democratic Republic of the Congo and the Republic of the Congo. It derived from Congolese rumba in the 1960s, with faster dance rhythms and bright, intricate guitar improvisation, and gained popularity in the 1980s in France. Although often used by journalists as a synonym for Congolese rumba, both the music and dance associated with soukous differ from more traditional rumba, especially in its higher tempo, song structures and longer dance sequences.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kongo people</span> Ethnic group in Central Africa

The Kongo people are a Bantu ethnic group primarily defined as the speakers of Kikongo. Subgroups include the Beembe, Bwende, Vili, Sundi, Yombe, Dondo, Lari, and others.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kimpa Vita</span> Kongo Empire prophet

Dona Beatriz Kimpa Vita, also known as Kimpa Mvita, Cimpa Vita or Tsimpa Vita, was a Kongolese prophet and leader of her own Christian movement, Antonianism; this movement taught that Jesus and other early Christian figures were from the Kongo Kingdom.

Marie-Claire Mboyo Moseka, known professionally as M'bilia Bel, is a Congolese singer and songwriter. Dubbed the "Queen of African Rumba" and "Queen Cleopatra", she is regarded as one of the most influential figures in 20th-century Congolese and African popular music. Her music is a blend of traditional Congolese rumba, soukous, rap, and zouk, with lyrics that often delve into themes of love, politics, hedonism, militancy, jealousy, sentimentality, and education.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nico Kasanda</span> Congolese musician (1939–1985)

Nicolas Kasanda wa Mikalay, popularly known as Docteur Nico, was a guitarist, composer and one of the pioneers of Congolese music. He was born in Mikalayi in the Belgian Congo. He graduated in 1957 as a technical teacher, but inspired by his musical family, he took up the guitar and in time became a virtuoso soloist.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Index of Democratic Republic of the Congo–related articles</span>

Articles related to the Democratic Republic of the Congo include:

<span class="mw-page-title-main">M'banza-Kongo</span> Capital of Zaire Province, northwest Angola

Mbanza Kongo, is the capital of Angola's northwestern Zaire Province with a population of 148,000 in 2014. Mbanza Kongo was the capital of the Kingdom of Kongo since its foundation before the arrival of the Portuguese in 1483 until the abolition of the kingdom in 1915, aside from a brief period of abandonment during civil wars in the 17th century. In 2017, Mbanza Kongo was declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Cinema of the Democratic Republic of the Congo originated with educational and propaganda films during the colonial era of the Belgian Congo. Development of a local film industry after the Democratic Republic of the Congo gained its independence from Belgium in 1960, and was handicapped by constant civil war.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Água Rosada</span> 1800s–1900s ruling dynasty of the Kingdom of Kongo

The House of Água Rosada was the last ruling house of the Kingdom of Kongo during the 19th and 20th centuries. It was also one of the main factions during the Kongo Civil War along with the Mpanzu, Nlaza and Kinkanga a Mvika kandas.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Paul-Joseph Mukungubila</span> Congolese religious and political figure (born 1947)

Paul Joseph Mukungubila Mutombo is a Congolese religious and political figure. He is the leader of the "Church of the Lord Jesus Christ", established in Kinshasa, Lubumbashi, Kolwezi, Kalemie, Brussels, Paris and Washington DC area. He declared himself "prophet of the Lord" for "the Ministry of Restoration from Sub-Saharan Africa".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Abeti Masikini</span> Congolese musician and philanthropist (born 1994)

Elisabeth Finant, known professionally as Abeti Fina-Masikini or simply Abeti Masikini, was a Congolese singer, composer, bandleader, and philanthropist. With a nearly three-decades-long career, she was a significant figure in 20th-century Congolese and African popular music. Often referred to as the "Queen of Soukous", she is noted for advocating gender equality, modernizing Congolese music, and inspiring successive generations of musicians. Her band, Les Redoutables, was a launching pad for numerous female artists.

Abeti Masikini: Le Combat d'Une Femme is a 2015 Congolese documentary film about the Congolese Diva and soukous star Abeti Masikini who fought for gender equality in the music industry during the 1970s. The film was directed by Ne Kunda Nlaba, who produced and wrote the film with Laura Kutika.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Aimée Kabila Mulengela</span> Congolese politician (1976–2008)

Aimée Kabila Mulengela was the alleged natural daughter of Laurent-Désiré Kabila, president of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). She was killed in her home by armed intruders on 16 January 2008. Although she had been issued a diplomatic passport as the daughter of Kabila, after her death the government claimed that she was unrelated to the former president.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jean-Pierre Finant</span> Congolese politician

Jean-Pierre Finant was a Congolese politician who served as the first President of Orientale Province in the Democratic Republic of the Congo from June until October 1960.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Machérie Ekwa Bahango</span> Congolese filmmaker

Machérie Ekwa Bahango is a filmmaker from the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Her first feature film Maki’la premiered at the Berlinale 2018. Her movie Sema advocated for women's rights and thematised the issue of sexual violence. It won an award as "Best International Film" at the DC Independent Film Festival 2020 in Washington.

Laura Guliamo Luyeye Kutika is a Congolese film director and writer.

Guy Loando Mboyo is a lawyer, Congolese politician and a member of the Senate of Democratic Republic of the Congo since 2019 who was appointed Minister of State in charge of Regional Planning since April 2021. He is the founder of the Widal Foundation in September 2018.

References

  1. ↑ "www.labsonbizizi-cinekongo.org". Archived from the original on 10 April 2015. Retrieved 12 January 2018.
  2. ↑ bayindo-bolamuka (24 October 2013). "LA BANDE D'ANNONCE DU FILM "KIMPA VITA: LA MERE DE LA REVOLUTI..." Retrieved 12 January 2018.
  3. ↑ "Fichier PDF 2013 -B- FORUMS ET HORAIRE CONGRES.pdf" . Retrieved 12 January 2018.
  4. ↑ fara. "O portal do FARA". O portal do FARA. Archived from the original on 17 December 2013. Retrieved 12 January 2018.
  5. ↑ "[Afrique/Congo-Brazzaville/RDCongo] Film documentaire : Laura Kutika immortalise la diva Abeti Masikini". Media Part (in French). 20 February 2014. Retrieved 19 November 2020.
  6. 1 2 "Ne KUNDA NLABA : « l'Afrique a beaucoup des belles histoires inédites à raconter au monde à travers le cinéma ». | Infomagntic". Archived from the original on 2016-04-08. Retrieved 2016-03-27.
  7. ↑ "Very nice documentary about the evolution of the Steelpan!" . Retrieved 12 January 2018.
  8. ↑ Vidani, Peter. "Bareface Films (barefacefilms: Bareface Film Club showcased...)". Bareface Films. Retrieved 12 January 2018.
  9. ↑ labsonbizizi-cinekongo (24 February 2011). ""CHERIE BONDOWE" A NE KUNDA NLABA FEATURE FILM". Archived from the original on 13 January 2018. Retrieved 12 January 2018.
  10. ↑ "Africultures - Fiche film : Abeti Masikini, Le Combat d'une Femme" . Retrieved 25 October 2014.
  11. ↑ "Kimpa Vita mere de la revolution africaine - La Rue Meurt Magazine". 1 September 2013. Archived from the original on 11 April 2016. Retrieved 12 January 2018.
  12. ↑ "Royaume Kongo: A la Recherche du Royaume Détruit".
  13. ↑ "Ne Kunda Nlaba – Oxford Africa Conference 2018". www.oxfordafricaconference.com. Archived from the original on 14 April 2016. Retrieved 12 January 2018.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.