Stop Filming Us

This documentary could easily have been another in the long list of films about an African country as seen by a Westerner. But according to Dutch filmmaker Joris Postema, it is the local African artists and citizens who steer this film. He hands over to a group of young people in Goma in the DRC who speak for themselves. They are critical of the flood of biased information that represents their country solely through images of war, violence, disease, and poverty, all of which serve to perpetuate stereotypes. Colonialism and the legitimacy of filming in one’s own country are among the issues raised by the local artists who cast a critical eye on foreign film production. The film shows a public who is engaged and interested in decrypting current events, while Postema’s camera lucidly captures testimonies and contradictory forces.