MAKALA

| 2018 – 96′ – Documentary – Written and Directed by Emanuel Gras.
Winner Best Documentary Award COLCOA 2018.
In Swahili and French with English subtitles.
A Kino Lorber release. |

 

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“Makala” means charcoal in Swahili. But this solemn, restrained documentary is not about words. It is almost silent. It is the simple story of Kasongo, a 28-year-old man who dreams of building a home for his wife and daughters. To do so, he fells a colossal tree, turns it into charcoal, stuffs it into colossal bags, precariously loads them onto a rickety bicycle, then — Sisyphus-like — pushes his load up a colossal hill, through clouds of dust and exhaust fumes, to market. Emmanuel Gras’ exquisitely photographed, existential film, a loving ode to one man’s resolve and backbreaking labor, is said to be the first documentary ever selected by International Critics Week in Cannes, where the film was honored with the 2017 Grand Prize and a Golden Eye Special Mention for Best Documentary.