Rumba Rules
1h 47m
Dir. David N. Bernatchez, Sammy Baloji - 107min - 2020 Canada, Belgium, Democratic Republic of Congo
Permeating the daily life of one of the great orchestras of the current generation, Rumba Rules proposes an incursion into the mysteries of a monumental African music. Ya Mayi, Lumumba, Xéna La Guerrière, Pitchou Travolta, Alfred Solo, Soleil Patron and many others: nearly thirty artists feed the creative life of the Brigade Sarbati Orchestra. By entering the group and the city of Kinshasa, the film gets into the rumba as if it were penetrating a rootstock. Through studio work, rehearsals and concerts, different portraits offer a foray into the dynamics and stories of this highly acclaimed Congolese music. From local roots to the patrons from the diaspora, the voices of Rumba Rules polyphony are past and present.