IN CINEMA
Tuesday, October 21st at 7PM
BLACK SUN
Congo In Harlem 17
Co-presented with Friends of the Congo and True Walker Productions
Alexei Speshnev, 1970, 97 min
BLACK SUN is a long-unseen and rarely screened Soviet drama that offers a fictionalized portrayal of Congolese leader Patrice Lumumba through the character of Robert Moussombe, the president of an unnamed African nation. Drawing from the real events of the Congo Crisis in the 1960s, the film captures the turmoil of post-independence Africa as it became a battleground for Cold War ideologies. Told through haunting flashbacks and a metaphysical dialogue between two dead men trying to understand their fate, BLACK SUN blends political allegory with personal tragedy.
Directed by Alexei Speshnev – an influential Soviet screenwriter and filmmaker – Black Sun was his third fiction feature and part of a trilogy exploring African–Soviet relations. The film features a cast of professional actors, amateurs, and international students from Soviet university theaters, representing over 30 African countries. With Cameroonian theater actor Ambroise M’Bia and Senegalese film star Mbissine Thérèse Diop in leading roles, the film stands out as a rare and ambitious experiment in Soviet internationalist cinema, revisiting colonialism, revolution, and betrayal through a uniquely Eastern Bloc lens.
Post-screening discussion with speakers to be announced, and closing night reception with live music by Nkumu Katalay
$15 General Admission / $7 Reduced Price
