FESTIVALS: *Dok.Fest Münich (Germany) * IDFA (Amsterdam, The Netherlands) * Visions du Réel (Nyon, Switzerland) * DocHouse London (UK) * DocPoint – Helsinki Documentary Film Festival (Finland) * Etonnants Voyageurs (Rennes, France) * Ânûû-rû âboro (Koné, Nouvelle Calédonie) * Kassel Documentary Film & Video Festival (Germany) * Cinemigrante (Buenos Aires, Argentina) * Comptoir du Doc (Rennes, France) * Doc Cévennes - Festival international du documentaire en Cévennes (Lasalle, France) * Open City Docs (London, UK) * Black Movie Festival (Genève, Switzerland) * Nuremberg International Human Rights Film Festival (Germany) * Festival cinémas d'Afrique (Lausanne, Switzerland) * Forum Saint-Pierre (Genève, Switzerland) * African Film Festival of Verona (Verona, Italy) * Pôle Sud - Cinémas d’Afrique (Lausanne, Switzerland) * Africa Alive Festival (Frankfurt am Main, Germany) * African Studies Centre (Leiden, The Netherlands) * Hamburg African Film Festival (Hamburg, Germany) * FOKAL - Fondation Connaissance et libertés (Haïti) * Cinéma CityClub (Pully, Switzerland) * Open Doek (Turnhout, Belgium)
AWARDS: * Best Belgian documentary at Docville Int'l FF in Leuven
Empire of Dust
Category |
Environment, Ethnography, Human Rights, Migration
Year |
2011
Country |
Belgium
Running time |
77’
Format |
HD Cam
Production |
Savage Film
Director |
Bram Van Paesschen
The Chinese Railway Engineering Company has descended upon the Democratic Republic of the Congo to restore the road between Kolwezi and Lubumbashi. As Head of Logistics, Loa Yan is responsible for the building materials. His interpreter is a Congolese named Eddy. The government is supposed to provide the materials, but it is not coming through on its promises. This means that the Chinese are forced to deal with local companies, all of which have their own agendas and ways of working.
The film follows this illustrious duo through the never-ending process of absurd negotiations. It is not only the language barrier that complicates things; the cultural differences in particular make any kind of cooperation almost impossible. The Chinese, who have flown in just for the project, often talk about the Congolese in blatantly racist terms, and the Congolese in turn seem reluctant to lift a finger for their Chinese bosses. All of which drives Loa Yan to distraction.
The big boss is due to visit, and the road is nowhere near finished. Recurring excerpts from a local radio show give a crystal clear commentary on the developments. In the beginning, the DJ still refers to "our Chinese friends," but as time goes on his view of the Asian visitors sours markedly. This occasionally hilarious report of a less than stable working relationship also reflects the unstoppable rise of China.
