Originally titled “Tongo Saa,” Rising Up at Night is a thought-provoking and immersive documentary that explores the lack of electricity, among other issues, in Kinshasa. With six short documentaries to his credit, including Awa (2019), Up at Night (2020), and Malinga (2016), Nelson Makengo continues his trend of exploring social issues in Rising Up at Night by capturing the lived realities of the people of Kinshasa in the wake of power outages. With an estimated population of 17 million, and the reported withdrawal of the Spanish construction company, BTP: ACS Activades de Constructión y Servicos, the future is precarious as there are still communities who have to deal with a multiplicity of predicaments.
Rising Up at Night details the lived experiences of the people of Kinshasa who aspire to access electricity in their community while highlighting the personal struggles of a few. With three major personas, the film exemplifies said struggles: The Pastor and His Gathering; The Man of Many Parts; and The Dreamer.
The film opens with a religious gathering comprising the pastor of Victoire Benie Church in his early forties and his congregation. Lack of electricity is religiously appropriated as light being life and Jesus interchangeably and darkness being of the devil. This gathering, as with many others, is held in a rechargeable lamp-filled room. This scene speaks to the tenacity, hope, and faith displayed by the congregants in the course of the film, notwithstanding the cable theft and unstable power supply. The pastor and his gathering seem to apply a two-factor authentication approach to the shortage of electricity by praying against the spirit of darkness while actively donating and meeting towards resolving the power outage.
The Man of Many Parts acts as a spokesperson for the community—facilitates cable purchase, sells rechargeable lamps as well as acts as Santa Claus for the community. He calls for meetings as required and serves as a go-between for the community and individuals who can provide services that the community may require. He is a handyman in his late forties who coordinates gatherings and projects within the community. Although in the end there seems to be a vote of no confidence in him from his people, he, however, toughs it out and does his part while showing camaraderie till the end.
The Dreamer is in his mid-twenties. He is youthful with a deep love of music, never missing an opportunity to break into a tune, either political or one of a future he considers ideal. He is like water, adapting to his environment while surviving. He has on two necklaces with striking features—one is shaped like an anchor while the other is in the shape of Africa—and it may be argued that these two symbols indicate his aspirations, which includes finding a place to call home in his own microcosm of Africa considering the fact that lots of the challenges highlighted in this film may be found in other parts of Africa like Nigeria and South Africa. He aspires for more and dreams of better, not just for himself but also for his family.
Rising Up at Night highlights the multiplicity of predicaments of the people of Kinshasa, exploring themes of family, unemployment, rape, theft, suicide, education, art and artistic expressions, community, accountability, religion, individual and collective responsibility, politics, music, cultural convergence and divergence, identity, loss, and faith.
This film engages the people of Kinshasa in their own space, adopting the observation method. The lighting in the film is compelling as it captures light as well as darkness as a tool for storytelling. The adoption of lamps and natural light in the night adds to the efficacy of the reportage of power outage and its effect. Music and sound play a great role in this film as it ties to the overall aesthetic of the film’s authenticity in reportage. The use of sound and music helped create an engaging atmosphere for the film as the director deploys music and sound as a form of commentary to aid his storytelling. The Dreamer’s song speaks to his predicament as well as his hope for his future. He sings about having a series of dreams, including a dream about a part of eastern Congo being sold off to the people of Rwanda, that the government got rid of free education, that Fatish Beton who is the current president of the Democratic Republic of Congo remains in power till 2090, all of which he says “is just a dream, I beg you, Lord don’t make it come true.” This song speaks to his dilemma and by extension, the dilemma of the majority of the people of Kinshasa as the dreams are some of the things that they fear may be a probable future. This song is particularly significant as all of his dreams are addressing social issues that impact the people of Kinshasa and the entirety of the Democratic Republic of Congo.
Rising Up at Night is a timely documentation of the challenges facing communities in Kinshasa and indeed several parts of Africa like Nigeria and South Africa, where there have been news of flooding, unemployment, and power outages.
It is intriguing to see Keren head to school at the end of the film, in clean dry clothes and bag. This singular scene speaks to the doggedness and hope of the people of Kinshasa and indeed the whole of Africa in the daily challenges they face in their community. Although the film is time coded, it highlights an important moment in the history of Kinshasa.
