Lumumba: Death of a Prophet

Set in the months before and after the Congo declared its independence from Belgium, this gripping, deeply personal political film from Raoul Peck, who grew up in the Congo, depicts the rise and fall of legendary African leader and first Prime Minister of the Republic of Congo, Patrice Lumumba. Lumumba became a lightning rod of Cold War politics as his vision of a united Africa gained him powerful enemies in Belgium and the US. This new restoration – strikingly photographed in Zimbabwe, Mozambique, and Belgium as civil war raged in the Congo – mixes Peck’s reflections and home movies with archival footage and vivid re-creations of the shocking events that led to the birth of a country.