Welcome to Labson Bizizi-Cine Kongo Ltd
We are a film production company specialized in creating the best African narrative fiction, documentary and animation films, and television drama series.
About us
We are a film production company specialized in creating the best African narrative fiction, documentary and animation films, and television drama series. We also produce corporate and commercial films tailored to your needs.
MISSION:
- To produce fiction, documentary and animation films and other media items;
- To create and increase film job opportunity;
- To involve in the development of the film industry in Africa by organizing training, workshops, film events, production and other activities linked to film and media;
- To create a link between African filmmakers and filmmakers from other continents.
OUR HISTORY
Labson Bizizi-Cine Kongo is a film production company based in United Kingdom, Angola and D.R.Congo; created in D.R.Congo on 07 February 2007 by Ne Kunda Nlaba an African Film Director, Producer, Editor, Screenwriter, Actor and Political Scientist, Masters of Arts in Film, Television and Screen Media.
OUR ACTIVITIES
Labson Bizizi-Cine Kongo is a film production and also a Film and Media Invention and Research Centre.
To achieve our objectives:
- We produce fiction, documentary and animation films of any genre such as drama, science fiction, action, adventure, comedy, horror, war and also experimental films for the world wide audience of any age group for theatrical distribution, TV, DVD & Blurays, on-demand and internet and we also produce music videos, commercial and TV programs ;
- We work with Kongo Bizizi Academy, the Pan African Film Institute to organize workshops, training for African filmmakers and hope to set up a permanent training center which will become a film school in the future;
- To promote culture exchange, we will organize film events (film festival, awards, conference) in partnership with Kongo Bizizi Academy and Afrika Bizizi Distribution where we invite artists from other continents and also we will associate African filmmakers, actors, technicians with filmmakers from other continents in some productions. We also hope to develop a distribution network for African filmmakers.
We produce for you!
* Corporate and commercial films:
Apart from our in-house production, we also produce corporate and commercial films for your organizations, charity and brands tailored to your specific needs.
* Filming in Africa:
Do you want to film in Africa?
We understand that filming abroad is not that easy as it involves traveling but we can do it on your behalf.
You can have a rest and our team can film for you in some countries in Africa with high-end equipment and deliver you the footage according to your deadlines.
You have interviews, some scenes and live events to film, do get in touch now.
* Post-production
Video editing:
Our team can help you edit your video professionally and deliver you a great story in due course.
Sound editing and mixing:
We offer you professional sound editing and mix for your drama, documentary, animation, corporate and commercial films from any country from around the world.
You won’t need to travel, but just need to send us the sound files and the brief and we will do everything for you.
Colour grading:
we offer our colour grading service using Adobe and Davinci resolve, and provide a great look for you film and video.
Subtitles and Captions:
We also provide subtitle and caption services for your film and video using current technology and industry standard techniques, and prepare your film to for broadcast, film festivals and streaming platforms such as Netflix, Amazon Video, Apple TV, and others.
OUR FILMS
We are a film production company specialized in creating the best African narrative fiction, documentary and animation films, and television drama series.
Genre: Documentary
Writter, Director and Producer: Ne Kunda Nlaba
Duration: 71 min
Production status: Released in 2016
Learn more
Genre: Drama
Writter, Director and Producer: Ne Kunda Nlaba
Production status: In development
Genre: Documentary
Writter, Director and Producer: Ne Kunda Nlaba
Duration: 104 min
Production status: Post-production
Learn more
KIMPA VITA
KIMPA VITA:
THE MOTHER OF THE AFRICAN REVOLUTION
ROYAUME KONGO
Genre: Drama
Writter, Director and Producer: Ne Kunda Nlaba
Duration: 77 min
Production status: Not Released
Genre: Dance film
Writter, Director and Producer: Ne Kunda Nlaba
Production status: In development
Genre: Documentary
Writter: Laura Kutika
Director: Laura Kutika and Ne Kunda Nlaba
Duration: 54 min
Production status: Released in 2015
AFRO BEAT
CHERIE BONDOWE
ABETI MASIKINI:
LE COMBAT D'UNE FEMME
Kimpa Vita: The Mother of the African Revolution
A Ne Kunda Nlaba's biopic documentary film about Mama Kimpa Vita, a 22 years old young woman burnt alive on 02 July 1706 in the Kongo Kingdom in Central Africa.
“MENTION SPECIALE DU PRIX SPECIAL DU JURY”
LES ESCALES DOCUMENTAIRES DE LIBREVILLE 2017
Synopsis
The fifteenth century was a time when the legacy of powerful African Kingdoms were wickedly invaded by the West. The African people’s rich and plentiful history-interrupted by slavery, genocide, and the deportation of Africans to new lands. In the account, The Great Kingdom on Kongo was no exception. A century later in 1704, a fearless young woman decides to fight for her country and while she tragically meets her demise, and is burned alive on the 2nd of July 1706, she is always remembered throughout her Kingdom as, Kimpa Vita: The Mother of the African Revolution.
Genre: Documentary
Duration: 71 min
Writer, Producer and Director: Ne Kunda Nlaba
Cast: Sanny Sessa
Production year: 2015
Production country: Angola/D.R.Congo
Released year: 2016
Website: www.kimpavitafilm.com
Click here to download the press release
Watch the trailer
Kingdom of Kongo: In In Search of the Destroyed Kingdom
A Ne Kunda Nlaba's new documentary about the Kongo Empire in Central Africa.
Synopsis
Once upon a time in the heart of Africa, in the middle of the world, along the Atlantic Ocean, existed an empire of great lakes, rivers, lions, leopards, precious stones, and civilized people. The Empire existed a hundred years before the 15th century and was developed, powerful, strong, and prosperous. It will be destroyed later by European invasion, slavery, civil wars, and looting of its minerals. It is also known as the kingdom of Kongo, Kongo Dia Ntotila.
Film Producer and Director, Ne Kunda Nlaba, a descendant of the Kingdom of Kongo and his team take on a journey in search of this once great African Empire.
Genre: Documentary
Duration: 104 min
Writer, Producer, and Director: Ne Kunda Nlaba
Production year: 2018-2019
Production country: Angola/D.R.Congo
Released year: 2020
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/royaumekongofilm/
Click here to download the press release
AFRO BEAT
A Ne Kunda Nlaba's dance feature film project.
Synopsis
Mala, a failing Black African law graduate from London decides to turn his back on joining the elitist rat race and sets up his own Afrobeat dance studio with the assistance of a very dubious investor. While this investor proves useful the payback is proving deadly.
Genre: Drama
Duration: 90 min
Writer, Producer and Director: Ne Kunda Nlaba
Cast:
Production status: In development
Production country: United Kingdom
Released year:
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/afrobeatfilm/
Watch the trailer
Abeti Masikini: Le Combat d'Une Femme
A documentary film about de Congolese Diva Abeti Masikini, known as the Queen of soukous.
Synopsis
Before 1970 in the D.R.Congo, singing professionally was taken as a job for men. Abeti Masikini, the daughter of the Congolese political figure Jean Pierre Finant assassinated with the Prime minister, Lumumba in 1961, changes the history and gained success by bringing new melodies and style into the soukous genre despite rejections, failures and hate for being a woman and for her voice.
Genre: Documentary
Duration: 54 min
Writer: Laura Kutika
Producer and Director: Laura Kutika and Ne Kunda Nlaba
Production year: 2014
Production country: D.R.Congo
Released year: 2015
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/AbetiMasikiniFilm/
CHERIE BONDOWE
A Ne Kunda Nlaba's first drama feature film, a Melodrama inspired by a true story and realities of African couples in Europe.
.
Synopsis
A Ne Kunda Nlaba’s drama about Bondowe, a Congolese lady living in London who has lost her family after a huge suicide committed by her ex husband Massamba by setting himself on fire with their children after the divorce.
Genre: Drama
Duration: 77 min
Writer, Producer, and Director: Ne Kunda Nlaba
Cast: Joyce Mukoko Kunda, Ne Kunda Nlaba, Niina Nia Kabesa, and Laurine Mukoko Kunda
Production status: Completed
Production country: United Kingdom
Released year: Not released
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/cheriebondowefilm/
Watch the trailer
Barbara Santa
Ne Kunda Nlaba
Film Producer, Director, Screenwriter, Actor and Political Scientist.
Master of Arts in Film, Television & Screen Media at Birkbeck University of London
Born in Kinshasa in D.R.Congo, Ne Kunda Nlaba is an award-winning African Film Producer, Director, Screenwriter, Editor, Actor and Political Scientist based in London. He is the owner and C.E.O of Labson Bizizi-Cine Kongo Ltd and Afrika Bizizi Distribution Ltd, founder and Film Professor at Kongo Bizizi Academy “the Pan African Film Institute”, creator of Bizizi Box and also a member of Producers Guild of Great Britain (PGGB).
A confident and creative filmmaker with experience in writing, producing and directing narrative fiction and documentary films of diverse genres. Recently produced and directed short and feature films distributed online, on Television and at national and international film festivals including “The Next” (2009), “The Steel Pan” (2010), “Living Without Living” (2011), "Chérie Bondowe" (2012), “Abeti Masikini: Le Combat d’Une Femme” (2015) and “Kimpa Vita: The Mother of African Revolution” (2016), “Kingdom of Kongo: In Search of the Destroyed Kingdom” (2020) and is actually producing a new dance feature film "Afro Beat" and a drama feature film "Kimpa Vita".
Education
Apart from his secondary school diploma in Biology and Chemistry from Kinshasa, Ne Kunda Nlaba had his degree in political science from Université Chrétienne Cardinal Malula in Kinshasa in 2005, a L3 city & guild diploma in Advanced media
industries production from Lambeth College in London in 2010, a Certificate of Higher Education in BA(Hons) Film: Video production with film studies from the University of West London in 2013 and a Master of Arts in Film, Television & Screen Media from Birkbeck University of London in 2018.
Early life
Ne Kunda Nlaba started his career in art since he was a very little child by performing in plays and doing poetry at primary school and secondary school in Kinshasa in D.R.Congo where he won some best actor trophies from school drama competitions and then started directing and giving drama training at age 16 to children from Baraka primary school in Kinshasa where he also won prizes for Best director and best performance.
He made his first film appearance as the lead actor in Kinshasa in the short film “Un Virus A l’Ecole” directed by Alain Ndontoni in 1998.
He performed in several plays and storytelling including "Shella" 1998 "Pasteur Contre Evangéliste" 1999 with Heaven Boyz company, "Cri de Détresse et d’Espoir" 2005 "Nsengane" (Conte) 2007 with Virunga Theatre and also participated in the creation of contemporary dance shows such as "Na Nini?“and "Bataille Sans Fin" with Diba Dance company of choreographer Jean-Marie Musungayi.
He founded his theater company, Virunga Theatre and a Cultural Centre called Labson Cultur'arts in Kinshasa in 2004, and then created Festival Solo or Mosi, a one-man show festival which had its first edition in 2005 and the second edition in 2007 in Kinshasa.
In 2006, Ne Kunda Nlaba started working with Canal 5 television channel as a marketing/sale agent and presenter, and then joined Mbongi'Eto Cultural Centre with the griot Ne Nkamu Luyindula and also the project Kiamvu-Le Pont as a Communication Officer while working still as an actor.
He got the inspiration of Bizizi, the African moving image art (African film) in 2007, founded his film production company Labson Bizizi-Cine Kongo and began his film career in Kinshasa and produced his first short horror film "The Next" in 2009 in London, a year after he moved to the United Kingdom and his first documentary “The Steel Pan: The Spiritual musical Instrument of the 20th Century” in 2010 which was screened at Montreal Black Film Festival in Montreal in Canada in 2011, and produced his first drama feature film “Chérie Bondowe” in 2012.
Throughout his career path from theatre, rap, contemporary dance, photography to radio and television; Ne Kunda Nlaba associates all this experience gained from his long journey to express his vision of the world and also connect not only with the African public but also with the world public through his films.
He hopes to make film a remedy that will make human lives for several centuries.
Filmography
2021: “Kimpa Vita” a biopic drama feature film about Kimpa Vita (actually in development). Genre: Drama, Credit: Producer, Director, and Screenwriter.
2021: “Afro Beat” a dance feature film about based on Afrobeat dance competition (actually in pre-production).
Genre: Drama, Credit: Producer, Director, and Screenwriter.
2020: “The Kingdom of Kongo: In Search of the Destroyed Kingdom” a documentary feature film about the Kingdom of Kongo (actually in pre-production).
Genre: Drama, Credit: Producer, Director and Screenwriter.
2016: “Kimpa Vita: The Mother of the African Revolution”
Genre: Documentary, Credit: Writer, Producer and Director.
2015: “Abeti Masikini: Le Combat d’Une Femme”
Genre: Documentary, Credit: Producer and Co-director.
2012: “Chérie Bondowe”
Genre: Drama, Credit: Writer, Producer and Director.
2011: “Living Without Living”
Genre: Documentary, Credit: Writer, Producer and Director.
2010: “The Steel Pan: The Spiritual Instrument of the 20th Century”
Genre: Documentary, Credit: Writer, Producer and Director.
2009: “The Next” (2009)
Genre: Horror, Credit: Writer, Producer and Director.