Imagine a movie theater with a unique concept: a wooden structure, locally made mats serving as seats, tree trunks and bamboo benches. A television sits proudly on a wooden structure, while a panel of projection programs is neatly displayed outside, tied to a tree or to the structure itself. For electricity, a solar panel or a small generator is installed outside.
Photo credit: Ruben reporting
Cinema as a Gateway to Information and Entertainment…
This is how cinema comes to life in the village of Bitanda, in the heart of the Dibaya territory, but also in many other rural Congolese villages. In the past, this was the only way to access audiovisual information and entertainment in these regions. However, with the advent of mobile phones offering multiple possibilities, this reality has changed.
In the heart of a green landscape, we can see the rustic cinema hall of Bitanda built with local materials such as vine mats and palm branches…
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At Bitanda train station
Solar panel of the Bitanda cinema
Bitanda, a former railway village on the Kananga – Mwene Ditu line, in the Bakwa-Nkola group in Dibaya territory, Kasaï Central province. Locals have adopted the name of the station over time, because when they refer to this village, they always refer to the station. The GPS coordinates of Bitanda are: -6.269640,22.796200
However, it is thanks to this concept of cinema that many have discovered Congolese rumba and other musical forms. Today, if mobile phones are often considered a negative influence on young people, it was the same for the cinema in the past, and even today in certain villages and cities of the DRC.
In the photo on the left, the projection program panel can be observed displaying mockups of famous films such as Delta Force, 36th Chamber of Shaolin, etc. These films, which marked the past, continue to be watched today in the villages. In the photo on the right, a programming board announces the live broadcast of a football match at the Bitanda cinema.
An Opening Towards New Horizons…
However, this cinematographic concept brings to the peasants a breath of elsewhere, images which nourish their imagination and an undeniable opening on other horizons.
The ticket price to watch a movie or a football match varies between 100FC and 500FC, sometimes exchanged for tasks for children.
Here, one can contemplate what the village of Bitanda looks like, with its straw huts harmoniously nestled in the middle of lush vegetation, surrounded by trees and green grass.
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