IN CINEMA
Wednesday, October 22nd at 7PM
NSALA + RED AFRICA
Congo In Harlem 17
Co-presented with Friends of the Congo and True Walker Productions
NSALA
Mickael-Sltan Mbanza, 2025, 10 min.
Blending Belgian colonial archives with footage shot today, NSALA reveals the human side of a dehumanizing economic machine. Through past and present imagery, the film questions the legacy of exploitation and the silent trauma that persists in bodies and landscapes marked by history.
RED AFRICA
Alexander Markov, 2022, 64 min.
Built from Soviet newsreels and documentaries shot across Africa from the 1960s through 1990s, RED AFRICA tells the story of how the Soviet Union rushed in as colonial powers were rushing out – with loans, aid, and ideology – hoping to win Africa over to socialism. African leaders were shown a carefully staged version of the USSR: smiling workers, gleaming factories, and the promise of equality. Many embraced the symbols – red ties, parades, one-party rule, believing they were building a better future. But behind the gestures of friendship were other motives. Resources flowed back to Moscow, students were trained more in propaganda than in practical skills, and Soviet “support” often meant weapons, speeches, and control. Over time, the cracks showed. The dream of a global socialist future faded, and when the Soviet Union collapsed, so did its promises – leaving both Africa and the USSR to reckon with what had really been built in socialism’s name.
red africa
RED africa
$15 General Admission / $7 Reduced Price
