Skip to content

Feature Documentary

Rising Up at Night (Tongo Saa)

Screenings
  • Open captions in-person Open Captions



Screenings


In-Person

Kinshasa and its inhabitants are in darkness. They wait and struggle to get access to light. Between hope, disappointment and religious faith, Rising Up at Night is a subtle and fragmented portrait of a population that, despite the challenges, is sublimated by the beauty of Kinshasa’s nights.





Directors Spotlight



A picture of a man named Nelson Makengo. His head is tilted slightly upwards, and he is happily looking up towards the upper left corner of the image. He is smiling against a solid, yellow color background. He is wearing a high-collared, dark garment. The texture of the skin is clearly visible, with a short, trimmed beard along the jawline and chin, and a mustache. The hair is styled in short twists or locks.

Nelson Makengo

Director

Director, cinematographer, and producer, Nelson Makengo lives and works in Kinshasa. His fifth film Nuit Debout (Best Short Documentary – IDFA 2019) was screened in 100+ festivals around the world. Rising up at night, which premiered at the Berlinale in their Panorama section, is his first feature-length documentary.







  • Runtime 96 minutes
  • Country DR Congo, Belgium, Germany, Burkina Faso, Qatar
  • Language Lingala
  • Director Nelson Makengo
  • Cast Nelson Makengo
  • Cinematographer Nelson Makengo
  • Composer Bao Sissoko, Wouter Vandenabeele
  • Executive Producer Florian Schewe, Michel K. Zongo, Marie Logie, Samuel Feller, Isabelle Christiaens
  • Production Design Bao Sissoko, Wouter Vandenabeele
  • Screenwriter Nelson Makengo
  • Co Producer Florian Schewe, Michel K. Zongo, Marie Logie, Samuel Feller, Isabelle Christiaens
  • Editor Inneke Van Waeyenberghe
  • Producer Rosa Spaliviero, Dada Kahindo Siku
  • Sound Design Franck Moka
  • Premiere Philadelphia





You may also like