followed by:

MWANA PWO (The History of Kongo Ghetto Version)
Dir. Mugabo Baritegera
Documentary, 2019, 56min
French & Swahili, w/ English subtitles

Bios:
Natacha Ikoli is a Brooklyn based multidisciplinary artist. Born in Kinshasa, Natacha and her family immigrated to France when she was 5 years old. She studied Cinema and Performing Arts in Paris before continuing her education in London where she earned a BA in Media and Film Production. Before starting her career as a DI colorist she worked for the UN Children’s Fund as a video producer and editor for nearly a decade. During that time she travelled extensively in the DRC covering stories on women and children and the agency's relief efforts. Natacha’s work focuses on uncovering stories on social dynamics and the impact that one’s culture has on one’s identity.

Born in Rochester, N.Y., Patrick Flynn holds a BA in Religious Studies from Hamilton College. He has been editing for film and television professionally since 1999 creating documentaries for Viceland, Disney, The Great Big Story, PBS, VH1, ABC, BBC, CNN, FOX, ESPN, The New York Times and various jumbotrons around the world. Films have screened at Outfest, the Berlin Film Festival and the Disorient Asian American Film Festival. Bana Congo Oyez! is his directorial debut.

Lubangi Muniania is an art educator, specialized in the visual and performing arts of Africa. He is founder and president of Tabilulu Productions, and has served as a consultant on art and culture for numerous museums and institutions, including the Museum for African Art in New York, Georgia Tech's Robert C. Williams Paper Museum, the Art Institute of Chicago, the Saint Louis Museum of the Arts, and Congo in Harlem.

In 2018, the Kivu region of eastern DR Congo became the site of an ongoing ebola outbreak. It is the second deadliest ebola outbreak in human history, after the 2013-2016 epidemic in West Africa – and on August 1st, 2019, it was officially declared a Public Health Emergency of International Concern by WHO. While many people in the west have remained detached from the crisis, it has been a central concern among the Congolese Diaspora in the US and Europe. This panel will provide a detailed survey of the ongoing response to the epidemic, and also explore the ways in which the Congolese Diaspora has contributed to efforts on the ground.

Panelists: Bibi Ndala, MPH (Communication Officer for the Ebola Coalition)
Lys Alcayna-Stevens (Harvard University)
Mary J. Choi, MD (Center for Disease Control and Prevention)
Fatima Kahn, External Relations Officer for the World Health Organization (WHO) office at the United Nations
Dr. Judy Kuriansky, psychologist, professor, journalist, author, and media commentator

Moderated by Gordon Tapper, President of the United African Congress, Founder/Chairman of Give Them a Hand Foundation, and former UN Chief of Section

Bios:
Petna Ndaliko is an internationally acclaimed filmmaker and activist whose cinematic style combines rhythm, image, and digital innovation to challenge traditional narrative structures and provoke reflection on post-colonial African realities. He is the founder of Yole!Africa (www.yoleafrica.org), and the Congo International Film Festival (CIFF).

Chérie Rivers Ndaliko is an interdisciplinary scholar, activist, and the Executive Director of Yole!Africa. She is author of the book Necessary Noise: Music, Film, and Charitable Imperialism in the East of Congo (Oxford), and co-editor of The Art of Emergency: Aesthetics and Aid in African Crises (Oxford), and is currently Associate Professor of Music and Communication at UNC Chapel Hill.

Lubangi Muniania is an art educator, specialized in the visual and performing arts of Africa. He is founder and president of Tabilulu Productions, and has served as a consultant on art and culture for numerous museums and institutions, including the Museum for African Art in New York, Georgia Tech's Robert C. Williams Paper Museum, the Art Institute of Chicago, the Saint Louis Museum of the Arts, and Congo in Harlem.