Rising Up at Night (Tongo Saa)
![](https://wp.blackstarfest.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/1717537613448ca702448732e0e2bc1af-1-1145x644.jpg)
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.](https://wp.blackstarfest.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/FeatureDocumentary_Risingupatnight__director__nelson_makengo-e1720046972476-278x278.jpg)
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