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Viva Riva!

  • Viva Riva !
© Formosa Productions
Genre : Action
Type : Fiction
Original title : Viva Riva
Principal country concerned : Column : Cinema/tv
Year of production : 2010
Format : Feature
Running time : 98 (in minutes)
http://vivariva.com/

The breathless story of the rise and fall of Riva, a Congolese smuggler who makes a fortune overnight and is hunted down in Kinshasa.

Kinshasa is a city of silky smooth and pulsating nightlife, always ready to go on forever. The happy few who have it all live the high life, never looking back on those who have nothing and live in envy, dreaming of their turn as kings and queens of the night.
Riva is one of those dreamers who had nothing, until he returned from ten years away, his pockets full of cash and determined to have the time of his life. With his old pal, J.M., he sets out for a night of drink, dance and debauchery.
Queen of the night, mysterious, distant beauty, Nora's dance transfixes Riva. No matter that she belongs to a local gangster, Riva must have her. Could this be something real?
The money Riva is spending belongs to his old boss in Angola, who, in hot pursuit, wreaks bloody havoc every step of his way through town to find Riva.
The dream becomes a nightmare, as Riva suffers the cold light of day - and his glory time runs out in a sordid pit on the edge of town.



Kinshasa is running out of gas. As traffic on the streets of the massive city thins out, an incredible mechanism is set in motion in the underworld, which picks up more and more speed. A band of smugglers from neighboring Angola has stashed some gas but this is only supposed to be sold when the prices have risen even further - and it is clear whose pockets the money will end up in. A wild, crazy struggle for the position of king of the underworld breaks out. And the smart Riva goes and falls for his rival's extremely attractive girlfriend. He starts playing with fire in the sultry Sai Sai club. The young Congo filmmaker's debut film is an action-packed thriller that was staged with as little fear as his heroes have when handling their weapons. Sex, greed and money drive the story that is told without a pause for breath, to the rhythm of a city that demands this tempo from all its inhabitants. The elegance with which Munga plays with cinematic conventions is astounding - as a genre film Viva Riva! does more than justice to Kinshasa's secret reputation as a trendsetting city in all matters of fashion. Such well-dressed gangsters have not been seen in the movies for a long time.

Title: VIVA RIVA !
Genre: Film Noir
Category: Feature Film
Language: French
Format: 98 minutes

Starring
Riva : Patsha Bay Mukuna
Nora : Manie Malone
César : Hoji Fortuna
Commandante : Marlène Longage
J.M. : Alex Herabo
Azor : Diplome Amekindra
Malou : Angélique Mbumba
Mère Edo (Mother Edo) : Nzita Tumba
Anto : Jordan N'Tunga

Directed by
Djo Tunda Wa Munga

Produced by
FORMOSA PRODUCTIONS, MG PRODUCTIONS AND SUKA PRODUCTIONS

Principal Cast: Patsha Bay, Manie Malone, Hoji Fortuna, Marlene Longange, Alex Herabo, Diplome Amekindra

Director: Djo Tunda Wa Munga
Screenplay: Djo Tunda Wa Munga
Cinematographer: Antoine Roch, AFC
Editor: Yves Langlois
Sound: Marianne Roussy
Music: Louis Vyncke & Congopunq, Cyril Atef
Production Designer: Philippe Van Herwijnen

Produced by Boris Van Gils, Michael Goldberg

Producer: Djo Tunda wa Munga
Coproducer: Steven Markovitz

Length: 98 min
35mm ‐ Color - 1:1:85 - Dolby Digital

Countries: Democratic Republic of Congo, France, Belgium, South Africa
Year: 2010
Language: Lingala, French
Runtime: 96

Production Companies:
Formosa Productions/MG Productions/Suka! Productions


Official description (TIFF 2010, Toronto)
Finally! An African feature film that merges the pleasures of Nollywood with sleek camerawork, satisfying genre thrills and a rare look inside the very heart of the continent. Viva Riva! is unprecedented: a story set in contemporary Democratic Republic of the Congo full of intrigue, music and a surprisingly frank approach to sex.
Riva is an operator, a man with charm and ambition in equal measure. Kinshasa is an inviting place. With petrol in short supply in DRC's capital, he and his sidekick pursue a plot to get hold of a secret cache - barrels of fuel they can sell for a huge profit. Of course they're not the only ones who want the stuff. Cesar is a ruthless, sharply dressed foreigner thriving in Kinshasa's lawless streets. A female military officer joins the fray. Even the church will betray its tenets for a piece of the action. But Riva's main nemesis is Azor, a crime boss in the classic style: big, decadent and brutal. He's not a man to mess with, but his girlfriend, Nora, may just be the most seductive woman in all of DRC. Riva catches sight of her dancing at a nightclub and it's not long before Nora matches the fuel cache as a coveted object of his lust.
Shooting in high definition, Munga saturates this African genre film with rich colour and movement. The camera snakes through crowded streets and steaming nightclubs, capturing the tangible atmosphere of DRC today. As the film roves from Azor's luxury lair, to lush scenes outside the city, to the dens where sin is for sale, Viva Riva! offers a portrait of urban Africa too rarely seen on screen. Even more surprising are its scenes of urgent sensuality, as Riva pursues Nora - or perhaps it's the other way around.
"The main purpose of a filmmaker," Munga has said, "is to make film where it's needed." With Viva Riva! he kick-starts a film industry in DRC, and does it with style, focus and a whole lot of sizzle.
Cameron Bailey (TIFF 2010, Toronto)


Director and producer Djo Tunda Wa Munga, who also wrote the script to VIVA RIVA!, created with his first feature film a portrait of urban Africa rarely seen on screen. Munga found his actors in small Congolese theater groups and in the streets of Kinshasa. "In making Viva Riva!, I wanted to find a new way to talk about life in Kinshasa today - to describe how my hometown works and how it doesn't work," says the director. "I also felt the time was right to depict aspects of life in the capital that everyone knows exist but no one has ever talked about publicly." Variety praised the film as "a blast from start to finish (...), a mix of adrenaline and style. (…) writer-director Djo Tunda Wa Munga's VIVA RIVA! marks the Congo as an African filmmaking center to watch."
Beta Film (Germany), International Sales

FESTIVALS

2011 | 61st Berlinale, BERLIN, Germany
* Section: Forum
Screenings:
Thursday | Feb 10th | 9:30 a.m. | CinemaxX 6 | PRESS
Thursday | Feb 10th | 1:30 p.m. | CinemaxX 16 | MARKET
Friday | Feb 11th | 9:45 p.m. | Delphi-Palast | PREMIERE
Saturday | Feb 12th | 12:30 p.m. | Cubix 7
Monday | Feb 14th | 8:00 p.m. | Cubix 9
Sunday | Feb 20th | 1:45 p.m. | CineStar 8

2010 | TIFF, TORONTO, Canada
* Official Selection
* World Premiere

_________________

ES
título internacional: Viva Riva
título original: Viva Riva
país: Francia, Bélgica, Sudáfrica
año: 2011
género: ficción
dirección: Djo Tunda wa Munga
duración: 98'
guión: Djo Tunda wa Munga
reparto: Patsha Bay Mukuna, Manie Malone, Hoji Fortuna, Marlene Longage, Alex Herabo, Diplome Amekindra, Angelique Mbumba, Nzita Tumba, Jordan N'Tunga
fotografía: Antoine Roch
montaje: Yves Langlois
escenografía: Philippe van Herwijnen
música: Louis Vyncke & Congopunq
productor: Boris Van Gils, Michaël Goldberg, Djo Tunda wa Munga, Steven Markovitz
producción: Formosa Productions, MG Productions, Suka Productions
ventas en el extranjero: Beta Film GmbH

_____________

IT
Kinshasa è una città con una frenetica vita notturna che sembra non finire mai. I pochi privilegiati che se lo possono permettere non si lasciano mancare nulla, incuranti degli altri, che possono solo coltivare l'impossibile sogno di diventare anche loro i re e le regine della notte. Riva è sempre appartenuto alla schiera dei sognatori, fino a quando, dopo un'assenza di dieci anni, torna con le tasche piene di soldi, determinato a darsi alla pazza gioia. Insieme al suo amico J.M., Riva si lancia in una notte di bevute, musica e dissolutezza. Sulla pista da ballo rimane affascinato da Nora, una donna bellissima, misteriosa e distante. Non importa se è la pupa del gangster: Riva la vuole.

Congo, Francia, Belgio · 2010 · 35 mm · Colore · 98' · v.o. francese/lingala

titolo internazionale: Viva Riva
titolo originale: Viva Riva
paese: Francia, Belgio, Sudafrica
anno: 2011
genere: fiction
regia: Djo Tunda wa Munga
durata: 98'
sceneggiatura: Djo Tunda wa Munga
cast: Patsha Bay Mukuna, Manie Malone, Hoji Fortuna, Marlene Longage, Alex Herabo, Diplome Amekindra, Angelique Mbumba, Nzita Tumba, Jordan N'Tunga
fotografia: Antoine Roch
montaggio: Yves Langlois
scenografia: Philippe van Herwijnen
musica: Louis Vyncke & Congopunq
produttore: Boris Van Gils, Michaël Goldberg, Djo Tunda wa Munga, Steven Markovitz
produzione: Formosa Productions, MG Productions, Suka Productions
rivenditore estero: Beta Film GmbH

Produzione
Formosa Productions

Cofinova 6
invest@cofinova.com

uFilm
info@umedia.eu

Coproduzione
Left Field Ventures
www.leftfieldventures.com

Diritti mondiali
Beta Cinema
beta@betacinema.com

Source: Locarno 2012 / Cineuropa
www.pardolive.ch/it/catalogue/film.html?fid=608347&sl=it

__________________

DE
In Kinshasa wird das Benzin knapp. Während auf den Straßen der Verkehr erlahmt, setzt sich in der Unterwelt der Riesenstadt eine unglaubliche Maschinerie in Gang, die immer mehr an Fahrt gewinnt. Eine Schmugglerbande aus dem benachbarten Angola hat Benzin gebunkert, das aber erst verkauft werden soll, wenn die Preise noch weiter gestiegen sind - und klar ist, in wessen Taschen das Geld landen wird. Ein wilder, wahnsinniger Kampf um die Position des Königs der Unterwelt bricht aus. Und der smarte Riva verguckt sich ausgerechnet in die umwerfend schöne Freundin seines Gegenspielers. Im schwülen SaiSai-Club beginnt der Tanz auf dem Vulkan. Der Debütfilm des jungen Kongolesen ist ein rasanter Thriller, so angstfrei inszeniert, wie seine Helden mit Waffen umgehen. Sex, Gier, Gewalt und Geld treiben die atemlos erzählte Geschichte voran, im Rhythmus der Stadt, die dieses Tempo all ihren Bewohnern abverlangt. Dabei verblüfft die Eleganz, mit der Munga mit cinematografischen Konventionen zu spielen versteht - als Genrefilm wird Viva Riva! Kinshasas heimlicher Reputation als trendsetting city in sämtlichen Modeangelegenheiten mehr als gerecht. Dermaßen gut gekleidete Gangster hat man im Kino lange nicht gesehen.

Demokratische Republik Kongo, Frankreich, Belgien, 2010, 96 min
Lingala, Französisch
Regie: Djo Tunda Wa Munga
Darsteller: Patsha Bay, Manie Malone, Hoji Fortuna, Marlene Longage, Alex Herabo, Diplôme Amekindra

_____________

SUEDE
Riva är en man med charm och ambition i ett Kinshasa där bensinen är en bristvara. Han och hans sidekick förbereder en komplott för att få tag på bränsle som de tänker sälja med stor vinst. Men de är inte de enda som smider planer. Där finns också den hänsynslöse utlänningen Cesar som trivs på Kinshasas laglösa gator, en kvinnlig officer och till och med kyrkan vill ha en bit av kakan. Men Rivas främsta hot är Azor, en maffiaboss i klassisk stil: stor, dekadent och brutal. Han är inte en man att bråka med, men hans flickvän, Nora, den vackraste kvinnan i hela Kongo, får Riva att ta risken. Snart är hon lika eftertraktad som bränslet.

Regissören: Djo Tunda wa Munga
DRC/Frankrike/Belgium/Sydafrika
2010
96 min
Franska, engelsk text

Source:
http://cinemafrica.se/sv/filmer/spelfilmer/263-viva-riva

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