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Chicago – At this year’s MTV Movie Awards, Djo Tunda Wa Munga’s “Viva Riva!” had the distinction of winning the first ever “Best African Movie” award, thus equating it with such cinematic masterworks as “The Twilight Saga: Eclipse.” Luckily, that’s not the only claim to fame for Munga’s slick neo-noir, which also garnered six African Academy Awards and single-handedly revitalized the film industry in Congo.

It was clearly the director’s intention to make a picture most likely to have international appeal, and in that regard, he has succeeded admirably. Though the film has garnered comparisons to Fernando Meirelles’s masterwork “City of God,” “Riva” is more interested in establishing a rich style and atmosphere than exploring compelling characters. Munga’s background in documentaries brings an immediacy and detail to each sequence, though the people populating the foreground never rise beyond the level of genre archetypes.

DVD...

Chicago – In our latest drama edition of HollywoodChicago.com Hookup: DVD, we have 5 DVDs up for grabs for the home entertainment release of the action-filled neo-noir “Viva Riva!,” which is the 2011 MTV Movie Award winner for best African film!

“Viva Riva!,” which will be released on DVD on Sept. 27, 2011 from Music Box Films Home Entertainment, stars Patsha Bay Mukuna, Manie Malone, Hoji Fortuna, Marlene Longange, Diplome Amekindra and Alex Herabo from writer and director Djo Munga.

To win your free “Viva Riva!” DVD courtesy of HollywoodChicago.com, just answer our question in this Web-based submission form. That’s it! Directions to enter this HollywoodChicago.com Hookup and win can be found beneath the graphic below.

“Viva Riva!” will be released on DVD on Sept. 27, 2011 from Music Box Films Home Entertainment.

Image credit: Music Box Films Home Entertainment

Here is the plot description for “Viva Riva!”:

“Viva Riva!” is an...

Patsha Bay Mukuna is a small-time hood looking for his shot in Viva Riva!

Music Box Films Home Entertainment will release the thriller Viva Riva!, the first film from the Democratic Republic of Congo to ever receive a major release in theaters in the U.S., on DVD on Sept. 27 for a list price of $29.95.

Written and directed by first-time narrative feature film helmer Djo Tunda Wa Munga, the movie tells the steamy tale of the ambitious small-time hood Riva (Patsha Bay Mukuna), who returns to his frantic, corrupt hometown of Kinshasa after a decade-long absence. All he has is a pocketful of cash and a stash of stolen gasoline, a commodity in the Congo.

It doesn’t take too long before Riva gets involved with a bunch of shady but alluring characters, including a local gangster (Diplome Amekindra) looking to move up in the world, his slinky, always-game girlfriend...

A gangster film set in the Congo about violence, greed, corrupt military officials, and romance, Viva Riva! is the first film from the Democratic Republic of Congo to play U.S. theaters and it turns out to be a solid crime drama. Its derivative plot is inspired by 70′s Blaxploitation but it’s from a fresh and interesting part of the world and easy to take as rollicking homicidal entertainment. This story of a gasoline pirate is presented with a bold and stylish approach with a depiction of violence that recalls such films as Alejandro Innaritu’s impressive Mexican 2000 feature debut, Ammores Perros (Life is a Bitch”), and the Brazilian epic City Of God (2003). Riva (Patsha Bay) is a confident smalltime hustler who arrives in his home town of Kinshasa with a truck full of precious gasoline, a rare commodity and one worth killing over. He’s swindled the fuel...

New cinema from the new Congo. Suspend disbelief a bit for this one. Take a walk on the wild side with Riva (Patsha Bay) from the yeasty slums of seething Kinshasa to the isolated, fortified haunts of the ultra-rich. The slums are where the good people live. The fortresses are the redoubts of men like the brutal Azor (Diplome Amekindra) who make their living supplying drugs to the poor multitudes in the city. Chaos is king in Kinshasa ever since the Congo became a nearly failed state offering only minimal law and order. Unbelievably, it makes a great backdrop for an inner-city tale of greed, sex and violence. Riva is a small-time operator with his heart and...

Bridesmaids (15)

(Paul Feig, 2011, Us) Kristen Wiig, Rose Byrne, Maya Rudolph, Jon Hamm, 125 mins.

Having recovered from the shocking revelation that women can be funny, rude, and entertaining in the absence of men, we can at last put the debates and Hangover comparisons this movie has prompted behind us now and just enjoy a satisfying prenuptial comedy. Led by Wiig's anxious maid of honour, it certainly matches male equivalents in the grossness stakes at times, but it also finds deeper, smarter ways to make us laugh.

Incendies (15)

(Denis Villeneuve, 2010, Can/Fra) Lubna Azabal, Mélissa Désormeaux-Poulin, Maxim Gaudette. 131 mins.

A mother's death sets her two children on an investigation into their personal and political history in this powerful mystery, set in an unnamed Middle Eastern country.

Countdown To Zero (Nc)

(Lucy Walker, 2010, Us) 89 mins.

Not got enough things to worry about? That's because you forgot about the threat of nuclear annihilation that still hangs over us.

On the mean streets of Kinshasa where fuel is a sparse and pricy commodity, Viva (a charismatically-laidback Patsha Bay), a mercenary-type and thrill-seeker with a devil-may-care attitude rolls into town with a lorry-load of stolen fuel. Hooking up with an old sidekick he begins hitting the local night spots, flaunting the money he’s made as far. His curiosity and voracious sexual appetite brings him into contact with the local gangster’s moll, Nora (Manie Malone), and soon he’s trying to avoid her vengeful boyfriend and his henchmen.

To make matters worse a trio of men from Angolan, led by the vicious and flamboyantly-dressed César (Hoji Fortuna) are also in the neighbourhood to hunt down the culprit who has stole a large consignment of fuel from them. Aided by a lesbian army commander who has been emotionally blackmailed into helping with their retrieval scheme, they will stop at nothing...

A tough, sturdy thriller set in Kinshasa suggests an impressive future for director Djo Munga

Not too many films shot on the mean streets of Kinshasa, capital of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, make it to UK cinema screens, so curiosity value would make this worth a look, if nothing else. Writer-director Djo Munga has put together a tough, sturdy thriller, centred around a smalltime hustler called Riva (Patsha Bay), who shows up in the fuel-starved big city with a truckful of petrol he's liberated from his Angolan gangster employers. Said employers, led by the creepy bespectacled César (Hoji Fortuna) come looking for him, doling out eye-watering doses of brutality on the way. Riva, a sunny, self-confident sort, meanwhile, has his eye on Nora (Manie Malone), the expensive arm-candy of local hardnut Azor (Diplome Amekindra). With the best will in the world, you have to say that Munga's screenplay rarely rises above the conventional,...

Title: Viva Riva! Writer-director: Djo Tunda Wa Munga Starring: Patsha Bay Mukuna, Manie Malone, Hoji Fortuna, Marlene Longage, Alex Herabo, Diplome Amekindra Foreign cinema conjures up a collection of very specific stereotypes, even (perhaps especially) for seasoned film fans. After all, myriad cultural dictates play a huge role in not only what types of movies get made internationally, but which are lauded and/or positioned in a fashion to then penetrate the American cinematic market. “Viva Riva!”, a flamboyant and sprawling crime picture whose style and plotting recollects movies like “Shottas” and “City of God”, is a foreign film that smashes some of these preconceptions of what an African movie is,...

Frenetic, sleazy, and entertaining as all hell, Viva Riva! is a stylish and multiplex-worthy crime drama from, of all unexpected places, the Democratic Republic Of The Congo. Set in the Kinshasa underworld, it pits local hoods, visiting gangsters, corrupt military officers, lesbian gumshoes, and shady clergymen against each other in a nihilistic battle for control of a truckload of stolen petrol, which, in the gasoline-deprived city, seems to have become more covetable contraband than a mountain of drugs. Patsha Bay stars as the eponymous character, who has returned home after 10 years in neighboring Angola flashing a wad of cash ...

[With African action picture Viva Riva! opening in limited release in the Us tomorrow we revisit our earlier review.]Set in modern day Kingshasa - capital of the Democratic Republic of the Congo - gasoline is in short supply. Riva, wonderfully portrayed by Patsha Bay, is a playboy and a grifter who arrives in town with a truckload of gas he's recently swiped from a gang of Angolans. Riva appears to be a smart, well-connected and charismatic guy who could be on his way to the top if he can sell this stash, that is until he lays eyes on Nora (Manie Malone) - the drop dead gorgeous girlfriend of a local bandit - and determines to make her his own. Meanwhile, Cesar (Hoji Fortuna),...

Reviewed by Amanda Georges

(June 2011)

Directed/Written by: Djo Tunda Wa Munga

Starring: Patsha Bay Mukuna, Manie Malone, Hoji Fortuna and Marlene Longange

There are several ways for a kingpin to rise to power, but what is at the base of his empire is a product that will make millions. In cinema, this is most often drugs smuggled across borders, or for the prohibition-era gangster, bootleg liquor. But for the mobsters in the Democratic Republic of the Congo in Djo Tunda Wa Munga’s film “Viva Riva!,” that precious product is gasoline.

“Viva Riva!” is the first Congolese film to ever receive distribution in the United States and the first to be shot in the Lingala language. The Drc is a notoriously difficult country for filmmakers, and this thrill ride through the crowded cities and quiet towns of the Drc is a commendable depiction of life in Kinshasa that has...

Reviewed by Amanda Georges

(June 2011)

Directed/Written by: Djo Tunda Wa Munga

Starring: Patsha Bay Mukuna, Manie Malone, Hoji Fortuna and Marlene Longange

There are several ways for a kingpin to rise to power, but what is at the base of his empire is a product that will make millions. In cinema, this is most often drugs smuggled across borders, or for the prohibition-era gangster, bootleg liquor. But for the mobsters in the Democratic Republic of the Congo in Djo Tunda Wa Munga’s film “Viva Riva!,” that precious product is gasoline.

“Viva Riva!” is the first Congolese film to ever receive distribution in the United States and the first to be shot in the Lingala language. The Drc is a notoriously difficult country for filmmakers, and this thrill ride through the crowded cities and quiet towns of the Drc is a commendable depiction of life in Kinshasa that has...

by Steve Dollar

If you've only thought of the Congo in terms of Hearts of Darkness and the carnage of the Second Congo War, the new film Viva Riva! is an eye-opener. The first feature from former documentary filmmaker Djo (Joe) Tunda Wa Munga is also the first contemporary Congolese drama to be made by a homegrown director.

Patsha Bay makes his charismatic screen debut as Riva, a cunning thief who's after the heart of a gangster's woman (a riveting, and dangerous redhead named Nora, played by Manie Malone). His insatiable—well, let's call it bravado—leads him to ill-advisedly pursue her while hiding out in the Kinshasa underground after heisting a gasoline truck from his former boss, an Angolan gangster (Hoji Fortuna) who is tearing up the city to find him and get his precious gasoline back. The pace is non-stop, and there's a seductive charge to the vividly choreographed sex and violence,...

Music Box Films has debuted an official red band (as in Nsfw) trailer for a foreign film called Viva Riva!, which has been making waves on the indie circuit, including winning six African Movie Academy Awards. Hulu is hosting the new trailer. Viva Riva! is the first Congolese feature film in two decades and the first to be filmed in the Lingala language (with French). The film is about a guy named Riva (Patsha Bay) caught up in the crazy underground world in the city of Kinshasa in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (Drc). I could make obvious City of God comparisons, so why not. It does look good though. Check this out! Watch the new red band trailer for Djo Munga's Viva Riva!: Riva is a small time operator who has just returned to his hometown of Kinshasa, Congo after a decade away with a major score:...

News on the march…! Held over the weekend, in Yenegoa, Bayelsa State (Nigeria) on Saturday, March 26, 2011, the celebration announcing the winners of the 2011 African Movie Academy Awards (Amaa) – in just its 7th year.

This year’s nominations list boasted an even longer list of awards, compared to previous years, as the award ceremony continues to grow.

Viva Riva, a film I’ve touted on this website in recent days, after seeing it for the first time last week, rightfully dominated, winning 6 trophies, including Best Film, Best Director, Best Supporting Actress, Best Supporting Actor, Best Cinematography, and Best Production Design.

The rest of the story follows in the table below, lifted from the Amaa’s website Here:

Category

Nominated Films

Winners

Best Short Film Bougfen – Petra Baninla Sunjo (Cameroun)

Weakness – Wanjiru Kairu (Kenya)

No Jersey No Match – Daniel Ademinokan (Nigeria)

Duty – Mak Kusare (Nigeria)

Bomlambo – Zwelesizwe Ntuli (South Africa)

Zebu And...

Writer/director Djo Tunda Wa Munga said that one of his motivations in making Viva Riva was to counter some of the long-standing, dominant perceptions of Africa and African art.

I’d say he accomplishes this goal, with a film that unabashedly depicts the kind of orchestrated sexuality and violence rarely seen in African cinema (specifically in the Democratic Republic Of The Congo – Drc – where such scenes are taboo); though there must be something to be said for being so audacious with this kind of carnage and salacity, in a country still recovering from a war that killed millions of people, and saw women subjected to worst kind of sexual violation.

The film weaves these often graphic sequences into a familiar, though well-executed narrative, producing an end product that’s nothing short of a visceral thrill! It screams its welcome, and dares you to ignore it, flush with a confidence...

Over the weekend, as most of us were reveling in Academy Awards thrills and chills, the nominations for another major movie award ceremony were announced, many miles, across the Atlantic Ocean; I’m referring to the 7-year old (this year) Africa Movie Academy Awards (Amaa), which will be held in Yenegoa, Bayelsa State (Nigeria) on Saturday, March 26, 2011.

This year’s nominations list boasts an even longer list of awards, compared to previous years, as the award ceremony continues to grow.

I’ll have to thoroughly scrub this list to highlight as many titles as I can – especially in the feature film categories, and I’ll do that with individual posts over the next week, or so. In the meantime, however, I’ll quickly point out those few titles that we’ve previously given ink to on this website, that are nominated for Amaa awards, including the following: in the Best Diaspora Feature,...

The South by Southwest Film Festival announced its feature film line-up Wednesday, piling heaps of cinematic goodness on an already stellar program that includes Jodie Foster’s The Beaver, Duncan Jones’ Source Code, Ti West’s The Innkeepers, Conan O’Brien’s tour documentary, and the latest Simon Pegg-Nick Frost comedy, Paul, with Seth Rogen.

Catherine Hardwicke (Twilight) returns to the festival with her latest film, Red Riding Hood starring Amanda Seyfried, after the writer-director spoke on a screenwriting panel in 2009.

Plus a few favorites from the Sundance Film Festival last month, like Tom McCarthy’s Win Win, Morgan Spurlock’s The Greatest Movie Ever Sold, and Max Winkler’s Ceremony.

I’m extremely excited, even if I’m already having flashbacks to intense sleep deprivation. Like the last two years, I’ll be on the ground covering as much of the festival as I can within the packed 9 days of screenings,...

‘Tapping into the cultural zeitgeist,’ at SXSW 2011

Austin, Texas – The SXSW 2011 Feature Film Lineup was unveiled Wednesday afternoon. The festival lineup will consist of 130 features, in nine full days of programming, promising to deliver a film-going experience unlike previous years.

With a reputation for taking chances on relatively unknown filmmakers, the SXSW panel of judges carefully picked 130 films from 1,792 feature-length film submissions, (1,323 U.S. and 469 international). The program consists of 60 World Premieres, 12 North American Premieres and 16 U.S. Premieres.

The main competition categories return with eight Narrative Features, and eight Documentary Features, both competing for their respective Grand Jury Prize. New for films in competition this year, are awards for screenplay, editing, cinematography, music, and acting.

(The Midnighters and SXFantastic feature sections, along with the short film program, will be announced next week.)

Here are a few of the Features to be screened, among many others.

Narratives:

The Beaver (World Premiere)

Dir.

Readers of Sound On Sight can be sure that we will indeed be covering the SXSW Film Festival once again. As previously reported, Duncan Jones’ latest film Source Code is opening the festival and there will also be premieres for the documentary Conan O’Brien Can’t Stop, Greg Mottola’s Paul, and Jodie Foster’s The Beaver. Now the full line-up has been announced it is incredible.

Hit the jump to check out the line-up, and be sure to visit our site during the event.

The 2011 SXSW Film Festival runs from March 11 – 19th in Austin, Texas.

SXSW Film Announces 2011 Features Lineup

Austin, Texas – February 2, 2011 – The South by Southwest (SXSW) Film Conference and Festival is thrilled to announce the features lineup for this year’s Festival, March 11 – 19, 2011 in Austin, Texas. The 2011 lineup continues the SXSW tradition of tapping into the cultural zeitgeist, highlighting emerging talent and breakthrough performances and supporting first-time filmmakers.

The South By Southwest Film Conference and Festival announced this year's features lineup. The festival takes place March 11-19 in Austin, Texas.

There are a total of 130 features screening this year including 60 world premieres, 12 North American premieres and 16 U.S. premieres! This year the a total of 1,792 feature-length films were submitted, which is the most ever.

There are going to be some amazing films shown this yea. Opening night kicks off with Duncan Jones' Source Code (Moon). The fest rolls on with Jodie Foster‘s The Beaver, Greg Mottola‘s Paul, Sundance Grand Prize doc winner How to Die in Oregon, Errol Morris‘ Tabloid, Victoria Mahoney‘s Yelling to the Sky, Azazel Jacob‘s Terri. There will also be a special screening of Catherine Hardwicke‘s Red Riding Hood.

The Midnight and SXFantastic sections will be announced with the shorts program next week.

See the complete lineup below via...

The South by Southwest Film Festival (SXSW) just announced their entire 2011 feature film lineup, and there’s isn’t a lot of note, with regards to this blog’s focus.

Titles you should be aware of – all of which we’ve previously profiled on Shadow And Act – include, Victoria Mahoney’s feature film debut, Yelling To The Sky (which will actually make its world debut at the Berlin Film Festival later this month); plus Blacktino, the first feature film from writer/director Aaron Burns, a self-described “blacktino nerd from Austin, Texas,” who got his start at Robert Rodriguez’s Troublemaker Studios doing visual effects; Benda Bilili, a documentary about a band of homeless, disabled Congolese; and last, but not least, Being Elmo: A Puppeteer’s Journey, a documentary about the black man that happens to be the man behind the puppet (which also played at Sundance).

There might be...

The South by Southwest Film Festival has announced their features lineup for the 2011’s Festival, which will take place March 11th to the 19th in Austin Texas. Read the full press release after the jump. SXSW Film Announces 2011 Features Lineup Austin, Texas – February 2, 2011 – The South by Southwest (SXSW) Film Conference and Festival is thrilled to announce the features lineup for this year’s Festival, March 11 – 19, 2011 in Austin, Texas. The 2011 lineup continues the SXSW tradition of tapping into the cultural zeitgeist, highlighting emerging talent and breakthrough performances and supporting first-time filmmakers. The Midnighters and SXFantastic feature sections, along with the short film program, will be announced next week. “This is the most exciting moment for us. After a fantastic festival of discovery in 2010, we can finally unveil the line up for this year’s event,” says Film Conference and Festival Producer Janet Pierson. “SXSW prides itself on taking chances, sifting for...

The South by Southwest (SXSW) Film Conference and Festival is thrilled to announce the features lineup for this year's Festival, March 11 - 19, 2011 in Austin, Texas. The 2011 lineup continues the SXSW tradition of tapping into the cultural zeitgeist, highlighting emerging talent and breakthrough performances and supporting first-time filmmakers. The Midnighters and SXFantastic feature sections, along with the short film program, will be announced next week.

"This is the most exciting moment for us. After a fantastic festival of discovery in 2010, we can finally unveil the line up for this year's event," says Film Conference and Festival Producer Janet Pierson. "SXSW prides itself on taking chances, sifting for films that are the seedlings of the next generation of must-see artists. This year's line up is full of emerging voices and filmmakers who transcended the resources they had on hand, often with an alchemist's touch."

Over the course of nine days, 130 features will...