Films Crossing Borders

1998 | Directed by Mwezé Ngangura | Belgium, France, and Democratic Republic of Congo| 94 minutes | French with English subtitles

Mani Kongo, King of the Bakongo, embarks on a journey to find his daughter, Mwana, in Belgium. A comedic take on a fairy tale, PIÈCES D’IDENTITÉS depicts the nuances of Black diaspora in a European society that discriminates against and devalues immigrants. Following director Mwezé Ngangura’s aim to make films about Africans in Europe for African audiences, the film won the Audience Award at the 8th Festival of African Cinema of Milan in 1998 as well as the Grand Prix at the Panafrican Film and Television Festival of Ouagadougou in 1999.  

Films Crossing Borders presents migration stories that traverse diverse and shifting boundaries, from the geopolitical and material to the social and conceptual. Across five nights, the series follows Mixtec women navigating painful returns, Syrian refugees filming survival at sea, and other journeys that ask: What does it mean to cross borders—seen and unseen?

Series curated by Alexa De La Fuente and Zoe Guiney