The San Francisco Black Film Festival, Landmark Theatres, and Music Box Films present a FREE sneak preview of "Viva Riva," the feature film debut of writer-director-producer Djo Tunda Wa Munga.  The R-rated "Viva Riva" is  the first film made in the Democratic Republic of Congo in over two decades, the first Congolese feature film in the Lingala language,  and the first Congolese feature distributed in the U.S.  The film with English subtitles can be seen Wednesday, May 25, 7:00 p.m. at the Embarcadero Center Cinema, 1 Embarcadero Center,  Promenade Level, San Francisco.  Writer-director-producer Djo Munga will be present for Q&A after the film.    

The public is invited to the free event but must RSVP to SFBFFVIVARIVA@yahoo.com. Seating is Limited.  First Come First Served.  Please note, a reservation does not guarantee entrance. Landmark Theatre Engagements begin June 24, 2011.  Visit www.sfbff.org for details. 

OR ALTERNATE METHOD, RSVP VIA FACEBOOK:

http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=222241567801699 (and click "I'm Attending")

Please be aware that even with RSVP, seating is limited and not guaranteed; you are advised to arrive early.  Hope to see you there - Steve Indig, Landmark Theatres

VIVA RIVA!

Acclaimed Noirish Crime Drama from Democratic Republic of Congo

SCREENING INFORMATION:

DATE/TIME:  Wednesday, May 25, 2011, 7:00pm

LOCATION:  Embarcadero Center Cinema, 1 Embarcadero Center, Promenade Level, SF

SPECIAL GUEST: writer-director-producer Djo Munga will be present for Q&A after the film. 

VIVA RIVA! is the feature film debut of writer-director-producer Djo Tunda Wa Munga, the first film made in the Democratic Republic of Congo in over two decades, the first Congolese feature film in the Lingala language,  and the first Congolese feature distributed in the U.S.  It was a sensation at the Toronto, South By Southwest and Los Angeles Pan-African Film Festival where it won the top award for Best Narrative Film.  VIVA RIVA! swept the 2011 African Movie Academy Awards, taking home 6 awards, including Best Director and Best Film, and was selected for Lincoln Center's New York African Film Festival.

VIVA RIVA! is the tale of Riva (Patsha Bay), a small time operator who has just returned to his hometown of Kinshasa, Congo after a decade away, with a major score: a fortune in hijacked gasoline. Wads of cash in hand and out for a good time, Riva is soon entranced by beautiful nightclub denizen Nora (Paris-based actress Manie Malone in her screen debut), the kept woman of a local gangster. Into the mix comes an Angolan crime lord Cesar (New York-based African Academy Award winner Hoji Fortuna) relentlessly seeking the return of his stolen shipment of gasoline. Director Djo Tunda Wa Munga's Kinshasa is a seductively vibrant, lawless, fuel-starved sprawl of shantytowns, gated villas, bordellos and nightclubs and Riva is its perfect embodiment.  The film's running time is 96 minutes. Rated R. In Lingala and French; fully subtitled in English.  

Kinshasa is a musical city and the film's score expresses the spirit of a young city trying to leave a difficult past.  Composer Cyril Atef (CongopunQ) celebrates the diversity of Congolese music with AfroPop tracks from contemporary artists ranging from Flamme Kapaya, Papy Mbavu, and Radioclit along with popular songs from the 70s by Franklin Boukaka, Franco and Manu Dibango.

http://www.musicboxfilms.com/viva-riva

Djo Tunda Wa Munga was born and raised in Kinshasa, the capital of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) where he spent his childhood. At the age of 10, he left for Belgium, and went on to study art, and later filmmaking at INSAS (Institut National Supérieur des Arts du spectacle et des techniques de diffusion) in Brussels. During his studies he directed his first short films, some in the school program and others as an independent producer. He worked for a few years in Europe in the film industry and went back to the Democratic Republic of Congo to work on documentary projects for the BBC, ARTE and Danish TV, amongst others. He also directed a number of documentaries for the local market. He went on to create the first film production company in the DRC, Suka Productions! and is currently focusing his energies on building up the film business in the Congo up to now virtually non-existent, and where everything has yet to be invented. There are currently no movie theaters in Kinshasa. Munga served as producer on Congo in Four Acts, a quartet of short films that exposed the distressing reality of every day life in the Congo. VIVA RIVA! is Munga's first fiction feature film and the beginning of the New Wave of Congolese Cinema. Munga's original language was Swahili after which he learned French, Lingala and English. Munga won the 2011 Africa Movie Academy Award for Best Director.  VIVA RIVA! won the award for Best Film.

"An African feature film that merges the pleasures of Nollywood with sleek camerawork, satisfying genre thrills and a rare look inside the very heart of the continent. "Viva Riva!" is unprecedented: a story set in contemporary Democratic Republic of the Congo full of intrigue, music and a surprisingly frank approach to sex" - IndieWire

Landmark Theatre Engagements begin Friday, June 24, 2011

Landmark's Lumiere Theatre, 1572 California St., San Francisco  (415) 276-4893

Landmark's Shattuck Cinema, 2230 Shattuck Ave, Berkeley (510) 464-5980