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☆ ‘On Becoming A Guinea Fowl’: Zambian film sets Cannes ablaze with surreal tale of family secrets
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-27 | by ( Thomas Page | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +8 min

CNN —The final, searing shot of Rungano Nyoni’s “On Becoming a Guinea Fowl” is a convergence of everything that’s come before. Nyoni’s first movie “I Am Not A Witch” broke through at the Cannes Film Festival in 2017 and won her a BAFTA. Like her debut, a satire on the practice of witch camps, also set in Zambia, the country of Nyoni’s birth, “Guinea Fowl” deals with injustice in tragicomic fashion. The idea came from a scrapped plotline for Nyoni’s previous film, she told CNN, in an interview during the festival. How do you not get up and just set everything on fire?”Writer-director Rungano Nyoni during the production of "On Becoming A Guinea Fowl."

Persons: that’s, –, Nyoni’s, ”, Bemba, Rungano Nyoni, Chibesa, Shula, Susan Chardy, Fred can’t, ” she’s, Fred, She’s, there’s, Nyoni, ” Nyoni, “ It’s, ” Maggie Mulubwa, Nyoni's, imploring, “, LOIC VENANCE, Norah Mwansa, who’ve, “ I’ve, ” Chardy Organizations: CNN, Cannes Film, BAFTA, Zambian, Cannes, Getty Locations: Guinea, Zambia, Zambian British, Wales, AFP

☆ President Tshisekedi's Ruling Party Leads in Congo Legislative Election
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-13 | by ( Jan. | At P.M. | ) www.usnews.com time to read: +2 min

By Ange KasongoKINSHASA (Reuters) - Democratic Republic of Congo President Felix Tshisekedi's UDPS party won 66 seats in the December parliamentary election, placing it ahead of 44 other parties that won one or more seats in the 500-member house, provisional results showed on Sunday. The increased number of UDPS seats, up from 35 in the 2018 election, along with gains by allied parties, could enable Tshisekedi to maintain his ruling big tent Sacred Union coalition, giving him the majority needed to name a new government. The results of the legislative vote follow the Constitutional Court's confirmation of Tshisekedi's landslide re-election in the disputed Dec. 20-24 general election that was marred by allegations of fraud, logistical shortcomings and disruptions. Opposition parties and independent observers have raised concerns about the election's transparency, citing chaotic voting conditions and a murky tabulation process. Congo's opposition parties have repeatedly blasted the election as fraudulent and called for a re-run - a demand authorities have dismissed.

Persons: Ange Kasongo, Felix Tshisekedi's UDPS, Modeste Bahati, Jean Pierre Bemba, Vital Kamerhe, Tshisekedi, Africa's, Bate Felix, Christian Schmollinger Organizations: Democratic, Sacred Union coalition, Provisional, Congo's, Sunday, Defence, Economy Locations: Ange Kasongo KINSHASA, Democratic Republic of Congo, Congo

☆ Factbox-The Main Contenders in Congo's December Election
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-20 | by ( Nov. | At A.M. | ) www.usnews.com time to read: +3 min

President Felix TshisekediTshisekedi, 60, son of Congo's late opposition leader Etienne Tshisekedi, came to power in a disputed 2018 election buoyed by a power-sharing alliance with former president Joseph Kabila. In 2018, he was prevented from entering the country in time to submit his candidacy for the presidential election. Old rival Martin FayuluFayulu, 66, a former Exxon Mobil executive, came second in the 2018 election that he claims he won. Before the 2018 election, Fayulu was chosen as the joint opposition candidate in a deal with Tshisekedi. Fayulu sent representatives to a meeting in South Africa where the main opposition candidates discussed joining forces behind one candidate.

Persons: Ange Kasongo, Felix Tshisekedi, Martin Fayulu, Denis Mukwege, Felix Tshisekedi Tshisekedi, Congo's, Etienne Tshisekedi, Joseph Kabila, unravelled, Vital Kamerhe, Jean, Pierre Bemba, Tshisekedi, Businessman Moise Katumbi Katumbi, Kabila, Katumbi, Martin Fayulu Fayulu, Fayulu, Mukwege, Marie José Ifoku, Bate Felix, William Maclean Organizations: Democratic, Peace, Exxon Mobil, Tshisekedi Locations: Ange Kasongo KINSHASA, Democratic Republic of Congo, Katanga, Congo, Congolese, Rhodes Island, Congo's Katanga, South Africa

☆ Congo Ruling Coalition Backs Tshisekedi for December Vote
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-01 | by ( Oct. | At A.M. | ) www.usnews.com time to read: +1 min

By Ange KasongoKINSHASA (Reuters) - Democratic Republic of Congo's President Felix Antoine Tshisekedi was officially nominated on Sunday as candidate for the Dec. 20 presidential election by his ruling political coalition the Sacred Union. Tshisekedi is seeking a second term in the vast nation, which is the world's top cobalt supplier and No. 3 copper producer, after winning a disputed first term in a 2018 vote. On Sunday, a congress of the Sacred Union coalition that includes political heavyweights such as Defence Minister Jean Pierre Bemba and Economy Minister Vital Kamerhe, picked Tshisekedi unanimously. Tshisekedi, the son of Congo's beloved long-term opposition leader Etienne Tshisekedi, promised to root out corruption and authoritarianism and has rejected accusations by rights groups and critics that he has fallen short on his promises.

Persons: Ange Kasongo, Felix Antoine Tshisekedi, Tshisekedi, Jean Pierre Bemba, Vital Kamerhe, Felix Tshisekedi, Andre Mbata, Congo's, Etienne Tshisekedi, Martin Fayulu, Bate Felix, Andrew Cawthorne Organizations: Democratic, Sacred Union, Sacred Union coalition, Defence, Economy, Union, Tshisekedi Locations: Ange Kasongo KINSHASA, Democratic Republic of, Rwanda, Republic, Kinshasa, Tshisekedi

☆ Regional force tackling east Congo violence extended to September
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-31 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

May 31 (Reuters) - A regional force set up to tackle militia violence in east Democratic Republic of Congo has been extended to September, a minister and a spokesperson for the force said on Wednesday. The seven countries of the East African Community (EAC) set up the EACRF military force in April last year to try to end bloodshed linked to decades of militant activity in Congo's east. The force's future had been uncertain since its mandate expired in March, and EAC leaders had expressed differing views on how it should operate. An EAC spokesperson confirmed reports that the force's mandate had been extended to September during a summit in Burundi on Wednesday. Reporting by Sonia Rolley; Editing by Sofia Christensen and Daniel WallisOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: Jeff Nyagah, Jean, Pierre Bemba, Felix Tshisekedi, Tshisekedi, Sonia Rolley, Sofia Christensen, Daniel Wallis Organizations: East African Community, EAC, Congo's, Thomson Locations: Democratic Republic of Congo, Congo's, Burundi

☆ After fleeing conflict, displaced women face rape in east Congo
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-20 | by ( Djaffar Sabiti | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

"He raped me," she recalled two weeks later in Bulengo, one of several camps near Goma sheltering about 600,000 people that have fled conflict zones. Over half were assaulted by armed men, it said last week, noting that its figures were likely to be underestimates. Hungry mouths to feed push women outside the camp in search of food and firewood to sell, making them vulnerable to sex crimes, said MSF worker Delice Sezage Tulinabo. Most survivors reported being attacked by armed and displaced men in and around the camps. In Bulengo, women said they had to pay soldiers to enter the forest.

☆ Director says she will work with intimacy coaches after Cannes film furore
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-18 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

CANNES, May 18 (Reuters) - French director Catherine Corsini said on Thursday she would work with intimacy coaches and do more to help young actresses in future films, after concerns were raised about an intimate scene with minors in her Cannes Festival entry "Homecoming". Corsini told journalists on Thursday she would take different decisions and call in experts to help actors prepare for sex scenes if she were faced with similar circumstances in the future. "Maybe I was being a bit pretentious, thinking I had 30-35 years of experience in my career and maybe I thought I had more experience than an intimacy coach. Corsini told Variety magazine on Tuesday that she ultimately cut the intimate scene from the final version "to calm everyone down and especially so that people would stop bothering the actors." Including Corsini, there are a record seven female directors competing for the Palme d'Or top prize this year.

☆ Controversial 'Homecoming' film director attends Cannes premiere with cast
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-17 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

[1/5] The 76th Cannes Film Festival - Screening of the film "Le retour" (Homecoming) in competition - Red Carpet Arrivals – Cannes, France, May 17, 2023. Director Catherine Corsini, producer Elisabeth... Read moreCANNES, May 17 (Reuters) - French director Catherine Corsini appeared on the Cannes Film Festival's red carpet flanked by a cluster of cast members on Wednesday for the premiere of her drama "Homecoming," which has been the subject of some controversy in recent months. The director walked between producer Elisabeth Perez and actor Aissatou Diallo Sagna, who won France's Cesar award for best supporting actress in Corsini's 2021 film "The Divide." The movie had faced controversy after concerns were raised about an intimate scene involving minors. Wednesday's red carpet appearance was briefly interrupted by a protester at the barricades in a red dress, who flashed her pregnant stomach with the word "Surrogacy" and a barcode on it.

KINSHASA, March 24 (Reuters) - Democratic Republic of Congo's President Felix Tshisekedi has appointed the country's former vice president Jean-Pierre Bemba, who was detained for over 10 years for war crimes, as the country's defence minister in a sweeping government reshuffle. The reshuffle, which was more extensive than observers had predicted, came ahead of an expected presidential election on Dec. 20, in which Tshisekedi is likely to seek a second term. "This a deeply political shuffle," said Jason Stearns, Director of the Congo Research Group and Professor at Canada's Simon Fraser University. Tshisekedi appointed Vital Kamerhe, his former chief of staff who was released from prison in Dec. 2021 following as embezzlement conviction, as economy minister. Bemba, a former rebel leader was arrested in 2008 by the International Criminal Court for war crimes and crimes against humanity committed by his troops in the Central African Republic between 2002 and 2003.

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