Human Rights Watch International Film Festival - London

Lumumba (London Premiere)
Raoul Peck - France - 2000 - 110m - 35mm - drama
In French with English subtitles

Legendary African leader Patrice Lumumba was Congo's first prime minister following independence. Despite only serving for a few short months it was one of the most violent and dramatic periods of post-colonial African history. Lumumba was not yet 30 when he was thrust into the centre of the international political arena, having previously been a civil servant and spending several years in prison for theft and inciting disorder. He quickly became a hated man, as the head of one of Africa's richest countries. However, his assassination inevitably promoted him to the status of tragic hero. Raoul Peck and co-scripter Pascal Bonitzer's film re-creates through intense imagery the tension and constant sense of danger which surrounded Lumumba's brief hold on power.
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