Viva Riva!
Release Date: June 10, 2011
Distributor: Music Box Films
Country: Democratic Republic of Congo
VIVA RIVA! is the tale of Riva (Patsha Bay), a small time operator who has just returned to his hometown of Kinshasa, Congo after a decade away, with a major score: a fortune in hijacked gasoline.
Director Djo Tunda wa Munga
Screenwriter Steven Markovitz
Producers Boris Van Gils, Michael Goldberg
Director of photography Antoine Roch
Production designer Philippe Van Herwijnen
Music Louis Vyncke, Congopunq
Editor Yves Langlois
No rating, 98 minutes
Cast Patsha Bay Mukuna, Manie Malone, Hoji Fortuna, Marlene Longange, Alex Herabo, Diplome Amekindra, Angelique Mbumb, Nzita Tumba, Jordan N’Tunga
Winner of Six African Movie Academy Awards
VIVA RIVA! is the tale of Riva (Patsha Bay), a small time operator who has just returned to his hometown of Kinshasa, Congo after a decade away, with a major score: a fortune in hijacked gasoline. Wads of cash in hand and out for a good time, Riva is soon entranced by beautiful nightclub denizen Nora (gorgeous Paris-based actress Manie Malone in her screen debut), the kept woman of a local gangster. Into the mix comes an Angolan crime lord Cesar (New York-based African Academy Award winner Hoji Fortuna) relentlessly seeking the return of his stolen shipment of gasoline. Director Djo Tunda Wa Munga’s Kinshasa is a seductively vibrant, lawless, fuel-starved sprawl of shantytowns, gated villas, bordellos and nightclubs and Riva is its perfect embodiment.
Kinshasa is a musical city and the film’s score expresses the spirit of a young city trying to leave a difficult past. Composer Cyril Atef (CongopunQ) celebrates the diversity of Congolese music with AfroPop tracks from contemporary artists ranging from Flamme Kapaya, Papy Mbavu, and Radioclit along with popular songs from the 70s by Franklin Boukaka, Franco and Manu Dibango.
Clip 1 -‘Riva Arrives’
Clip 2 – ‘Money is like Poison’
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