The Festival de Cannes has officially confirmed what I reported on October 31 in “Cannes Comes to Kinshasa.” A delegation led by General Delegate Thierry Frémaux traveled to the Democratic Republic of the Congo from October 27 to 29, 2025, to support the launch of the Congolese National Film Center — the first official Cannes mission in Sub-Saharan Africa.
According to a November 4 press release, issued by the festival and corroborating information first published by the Congolese Press Agency, the visit was initiated by the Okapi Films Collective and recognized by both the Ministry of Culture and Arts and the Ministry of Communication and Media. It confirms that the Kinshasa trip was an institutional mission aimed at building cooperation between Cannes and Congolese film authorities.
“The Democratic Republic of the Congo has all the resources it needs to become a land of cinema,” said Frémaux, noting the festival’s purpose “to go out and meet artists rooted in their local realities.”
In Kinshasa, Frémaux met with Minister Patrick Muyaya Katembwe and joined Okapi Films Collective events organized by Dieudo Hamadi, Djia Mambu, and Emmanuel Lupia. The itinerary included a press conference at the Ministry of Culture, a reception at the French Embassy, a screening of Jafar Panahi’s Palme d’Or winner “It Was Just an Accident”, and a masterclass at the Institut National des Arts (INA), which has launched its first film degree programs.
Hamadi called the visit “a strong signal” for Congolese cinema, saying Cannes’ visibility “gives our initiatives recognition and helps our films reach wider audiences.”
The festival positioned the visit within its year-round international outreach program, alongside “Festival de Cannes Film Week” in Buenos Aires later this month. It also linked the mission to the DRC’s ongoing institutional projects, including Maison du Cinéma, led by Cécilia Zoppelletto, which plans to open its first incubation space in 2026.
The official confirmation answers several questions raised in my October 31 report. The visit was a formal Cannes delegation, coordinated with the Congolese government, and tied directly to the launch of a national film body. It also establishes that Cannes now frames such missions as part of its global outreach strategy and that the relationship between Frémaux and Hamadi has evolved into an institutional partnership.
Cannes — the world’s most influential film institution, where artistic prestige and market power converge — has, for the first time, entered Sub-Saharan Africa in an official capacity, a move with longer-term implications for how the continent connects to global cinema.
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