Colette and Justin

Original Title: Colette Et Justin 

Duration: 88 minutes 

Country: France and Belgium 

Language: Lingala, French, with English subtitles 

Director: Alain Kassanda 

The Belgians own the Congo in the year 1960, not that they would ever claim to. Instead, they tout the country’s “free and fair” elections, while covertly enforcing trade regulations highly lucrative for themselves and for their companies. The punishments for those who refuse these shackles of paternalism? Disenfranchisement, destruction, death–even permanent bodily maiming. In Colette and Justin, filmmaker Alain Kassanda conducts an interview with his grandparents to capture a startlingly unique lens–that of a Congolese politician once completely under the thumb of Belgian tyranny, and a wife once forced to grapple between raising children in a fearsome home, or abroad in some strange land. 

Quote: 

“Kassanda expresses his surprise at his grandfather’s stand. But his is the fate of offspring of the many corrupt or inept or self-serving or merely politically pragmatic personalities dotting Africa’s post-independence landscape. If these offspring ever take a break from their cushioned, heavily westernised lives to parse just where exactly their privilege originates from, they, too, may be in shock at the stories of their forebears.” (Oris Aigbokhaevbolo -- The Film Verdict) 

Awards: 

+ Cinéma du Réel: Grand Prize 

+ FIFDH Geneva Creative Documentary Competition: Gilda Vieira De Mello Award 

Pre-Screening Event:

+ Fufu and Stew Tasting from African Cuisine

Post-Screening Event

+ Zoom Q & A Discussion with CMU Professor of History Edda Fields-Black!