L'ARBRE DE L’AUTHENTICITÉ (THE TREE OF AUTHENTICITY)
Filmforum Ludwig Ticketshop
In the heart of the Congo rainforest, the remains of the Yangambi research centre dedicated to tropical agriculture bear witness to Belgium's colonial past and its direct consequences on climate change. Director Sammy Baloji presents a three-part essay, giving voice to the writings of two scientists, Paul Panda Farnana and Abiron Bernaert, who worked at Yangambi between 1910 and 1950. Their stories are complemented by that of a three-hundred-year-old tree. L'ARBRE DE L’AUTHENTICITÉ highlights the legacy of colonial modernity in today's greedy exploitation of natural resources.
Cooperation: Free Kongo Kollektiv, Deutsch-Kongolisische Jugendinstitut e. V.
L'ARBRE DE L’AUTHENTICITÉ (THE TREE OF AUTHENTICITY) Direction: Sammy Baloji, DCP, OmeU, 85 min
Guest
Sammy Baloji lives and works between Lubumbashi and Brussels. Since 2005, he has been exploring the memory and history of the Democratic Republic of Congo. After his studies in literature and human sciences, he began to work as a cartoonist and later specialised in video art and photography. His work is an ongoing investigation into the cultural, architectural and industrial heritage of the Katanga region, as well as questioning the impact of Belgian colonisation. His critical view of contemporary societies serves as a warning against the ways in which cultural clichés continue to shape collective memory, allowing social and political power games to continue to dictate human behaviour. His feature film L’ARBRE DE L’AUTHENTICITÉ won the Special Jury Prize at the 2025 International Film Festival Rotterdam.