Lumumba

‘June 1960: Patrice Lumumba becomes Prime Minister of the Congo, which has just gained independence. The inexperienced young politician campaigns uncompromisingly for equal rights for the black population in a united Congo, but the USA, Belgium and influential Congolese leaders such as the future dictator Mobutu have other ideas. Peck meticulously traces the fate of an idealistic politician, whose tragic downfall exemplifies the violent legacy of decolonisation. (…) The filmmaker, who grew up in the Congo, had already dedicated an essayistic documentary to Lumumba in 1991, in which he set out in search of clues. In a sense, the feature film, made in 2000, is based on that research, as many scenes are recreated with great attention to detail – right down to the camera angles – based on the historical photographs and film footage that Peck unearthed whilst preparing for the documentary.’ (Josef Lederle, filmheft: Fokus Afrika, 16 June 2005)