Elephant's Dream is a portrait about three State-owned institutions and their workers in DR Congo, providing insight into their daily lives and survival in the third largest city of Africa, Kinshasa.
After a lengthy and devastating civil war in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), the capital city of Kinshasa is rebuilding. Through the eyes of three civil workers struggling to reconstruct the foundation of the city's public services, we witness a tale of national transformation- at a snail's pace. Driven by desperate ambition, postal worker Henriette faces a system defined by stagnation, even as she rises through its ranks. With ramshackle equipment, a firefighter is forced to watch as everything he helped build burns to the ground. Meanwhile, optimistic railway worker Simon stands guard over an unused rail-station-unsure of what he is protecting. Their stories allow director Kristof Bilsen to offer a rare look at the DRC, filled with poetry and absurdity that is brimming with compassionate insight.—Eli Horwatt (HotDocs)
Elephants Dream takes us beyond the usual reports of the Congo, to provide poetic and compassionate insight into a country in transition, as seen through the microcosm of three state-owned institutions and its public sector workers in the third largest city in Africa, Kinshasa, a railway station, the central post office and the only existing fire station.
At times surreal, at times hopeful, this film will reveal a truly surprising perspective on lives lived beyond chaos.
