VIVA RIVA! Gritty Crime Drama from Congo June 24, 2011

Landmark’s Lumiere Theatre, 1572 California St., San Francisco (415) 267-4893
Tickets are $10.50 for general admission and $8.00 for seniors and children
Showtimes (valid 6/24-30): Fri & Sat at 2:15, 4:30, 7:00, 9:15; Sun at 2:15, 4:30, 7:00; Mon-Thu at 5:45, 8:10

VIVA RIVA! is the feature film debut of writer-director-producer Djo Tunda Wa Munga, the first film made in the Democratic Republic of Congo in over two decades, the first Congolese feature film in the Lingala language, and the first Congolese feature distributed in the U.S. It was a sensation at the Toronto, South by Southwest and Los Angeles Pan-African Film Festival where it won the top award for Best Narrative Film. VIVA RIVA! swept the 2011 African Movie cademy Awards, taking home 6 awards, including Best Director and Best Film, and was selected for Lincoln Center's New York African Film Festival.

VIVA RIVA! is the tale of Riva (Patsha Bay Mukana) is a small time operator who has just returned to his hometown of Kinshasa, Congo after a decade away with a major score: a fortune in hijacked gasoline. Wads of cash in hand and out for a good time, Riva is soon entranced by beautiful night club denizen Nora (Manie Malone), the kept woman of a tough local gangster. Into the mix comes Riva’s former boss, an Angolan crime lord Cesar (New York-based African Academy Award winner Hoji Fortuna) relentlessly pursuing his stolen shipment of gasoline.Writer/director Djo Tunda Wa Munga depicts the capital city of Kinshasa as a seductively vibrant, lawless, fuel-starved sprawl of shantytowns, gated villas, bordellos and nightclubs, and Riva is its perfect embodiment.

Kinshasa is a musical city and the film's score expresses the spirit of a young city trying to leave a difficult past. Composer Cyril Atef (CongopunQ) celebrates the diversity of Congolese music with AfroPop tracks from contemporary artists ranging from Flamme Kapaya, Papy Mbavu, and Radioclit along with popular songs from the 70s by Franklin Boukaka, Franco and manu Dibango. http://www.vivarivamovie.com/
More information about the film is available at: http://www.facebook.com/vivariva?sk=info

Hugh Hart’s article about VIVA RIVA! In SF Chronicle
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2011/06/19/PK2K1JRFOT.DTL

“An African feature film that merges the pleasures of Nollywood with sleek camerawork, satisfying genre thrills and a rare look inside the very heart of the continent. "Viva Riva!" is unprecedented: a story set in contemporary Democratic Republic of the Congo full of intrigue, music and a surprisingly frank approach to sex” – IndieWire

“Energetic, boldly entertaining…inescapably intense” – Kelly Vance, East Bay Express

“Gritty, riveting, and even heartbreaking… As sexy and violent as a contemporary noir, and as familiar as a folk tale unraveled round a campfire” – Kimberly Chun, SF Bay Guardian

Landmark Theatre Engagements begin Friday, June 24, 2011 in San Francisco
Landmark's Lumiere theatre, 1572 California St,. San Francisco (415) 276-4893
Landmark's Shattuck Cinema, 2230 Shattuck Ave, Berkeley (510) 464-5980

The film's running time is 96 minutes. Rated R. In Lingala and French; fully subtitled in English.

Official Website: http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=174471545945707