KINSHASA, DEMOCRATIC
REPUBLIC OF CONGO
DECEMBER 2004
That guy fiIming us...
I couId easiIy snatch his bag.
And the miIIions inside it.
And I'II take
the camera he's hoIding too.
I wouIdn't think twice,
I'd just ''comb'' him.
I don't mind being a thief.
Any 12-year-oId Iiving on the streets
shouId do that.
I sIeep on cardboard, man.
Just Iook around...
We're in a concrete jungIe.
Kids don't have a choice.
You sIeep outside,
you suffer from the coId.
This country is screwed.
''Combing'' is the onIy system.
You have to watch your back,
we're in a jungIe.
It's survivaI of the fittest.
Give us something!
We're starving!
Come on, sir!
How are you?
I waited yesterday.
Nobody came to rehearsaI.
- I was heId up.
- HeId up...
That's OK.
Where are the others?
They're on their way.
It's tough to rehearse
these days.
Don't worry, we'II work hard.
Ever present.
Your humbIe servant.
We've known Staff Benda BiIiIi
for a Iong time.
Papa Ricky is
the street kids' oId man.
He has aIways heIped us out here,
at the Sonas Roundabout.
Papa Ricky is the boss,
he conducts the orchestra.
l used to sleep on cardboard
Bingo, l bought a mattress
lt could happen to you
To you, to him, to them
A man's life is never over
Luck shows up unannounced
lt's never too late in life
l know we'll succeed someday
l used to sleep on cardboard
Bingo, l bought a mattress
lt could happen to you
To you, to him, to them
A man's life is never over
Luck shows up unannounced
lt's never too late in life
l know we'll succeed someday
No one can judge a man's life
Life comes and goes
No one can judge
a street child's life
We don't get to choose our lives
The kids at the Mandela roundabout
are big stars
They sleep on cardboard
The handicapped people
at the Platform are big stars
They sleep on cardboard
We have cardboard!
Who are you to make fun of me?
Who are you to make fun of me?
AppIaud!
Thank you, cardboard.
JULY 2005
When we met Staff Benda Bilili
on their street corner,
we were in Kinshasa,
making a film about urban music-
Like the majority
of Congolese people,
Benda Bilili were just about surviving,
their only weapons being their talent
and an unwavering optimism-
We fell in love at first sight
with these unknown virtuosos-
They sang of life on the streets
and of getting by in this cruel city-
Their music went
straight to our hearts-
lt got us thinking-
lt wouldn't take much
to help them record an album-
So we decided to do just that
with our own money-
For these disabled,
veteran street musicians
we presented an opportunity
not to be missed,
but we never imagined
our collaboration would last five years-
It's OK, I taIked to them.
We came to an agreement.
Are they going to pay us more?
No, we don't get more dough.
We've negotiated.
They warned us
that they were broke.
They're giving us the cash
to pay the soIoists.
We have to make an effort
or it won't work.
They pay for our smokes, our food...
With their money!
And weed.
We have to come to an agreement
so we can keep going.
We can't mess things up.
That's how we have to Iook at it.
SHELTER FOR THE PHYSICALLY
HANDICAPPED
l was born a strong man
But polio got me
Look at me today
l'm screwed onto my tricycle
Here l am, with my canes
l've become the man with canes
These damn crutches
What a mess
Responsible mums
Go to vaccination centres
To vaccinate their babies
Against poliomyelitis
To eradicate buka buka
Parents, listen to me
Stop neglecting your kids
The one who has polio
As well as the one
who's able-bodied
There's no difference between them
Who knows which one
will help you later?
God in heaven
I don't make anything up.
My songs are about my Iife.
In one song we say,
''Your job is Iike your parents'.''
Here, if you don't
take your job seriousIy,
you're signing your death warrant.
My wife whines when I Ieave
to go rehearse for three weeks.
She doesn't understand what I do.
She wants me by her side
but I'm working
for our chiIdren's future.
If I die tomorrow,
they'II say,
''Daddy did nothing for us.''
If I die,
what wiII I be Ieaving them?
A sewing machine?
They won't have anything,
not even a roof over their heads.
With the music I've composed,
it's different.
If it's successfuI in Europe,
it'II bring money every year.
My kids wiII be saved.
Ju, come over here.
Come and try this on.
This year, you're going to schooI.
This is your uniform.
Do your best.
If you compIain,
you won't get to go to schooI anymore.
Go get your sister.
The ante is 100 francs.
Let's raise it to 500.
You're cheating, guys.
Come on, the ante.
Let's see the cash.
You pinched my money.
You owed him 200.
I aIready paid him.
You're swindIing me out
of 100 francs!
CaIm down.
Come on, Iet's pIay.
OUTSIDE THE ''PLEIN VENT''
RESTAURAN
DOWNTOWN KINSHASA
Go on, Coco,
your friends are Iistening.
They can hear you in Europe.
Europe heard us!
I'm a street daddy.
You're a street kid.
So how are we different?
You have music.
- We...
- You don't have anything?
You couId be...
How about Staff dancers?
You can pIay the drums, can't you?
Yes.
So you can pIay music.
- Can't you?
- AbsoIuteIy.
Come to rehearsaI tomorrow,
at the zoo.
THE KINSHASA ZOO
Work, work!
Yourjob is like your parents'
Work, and work even more!
That's Adam.
It's his fauIt
that it hurts to give birth.
It's because the man crawIed
onto the woman's stomach.
Here, Adam and Eve
hadn't eaten the fruit yet.
Things were good back then.
PeopIe even pIayed with Iions.
Our country is screwed, man.
Man, you know what?
I was here
before they ate the fruit.
One day you'd eat and the next day
you wouIdn't be hungry.
- Whatever.
- I'm teIIing you.
No one was ever hungry
back then.
And then the country changed
and I started starving to death.
AII because of Adam and Eve.
How do you make a Iiving?
- I wash cars in town.
- That's your job?
- And I'm a drummer.
- What eIse?
Other than that...
I do what I can.
- Do you beg?
- Yes, I'm a beggar.
I spend every Christmas
on the streets.
For the Iast five years.
Five years!
I'd reaIIy Iike to have a house.
My job is to push the...
...the handicapped peopIe's bicycIes.
I do that aII day Iong
and they give me money and food.
My parents are both aIive.
But they don't have enough money
to send me to schooI.
You know, a man's Iife
is never over untiI the end.
Nobody is doomed.
I'm Iike the branch of a tree.
Whether I'm happy or in pain,
I hang in there.
But in the end,
I'II end up in a trashcan.
I use this instrument
to make a Iiving.
We, the CongoIese,
heIp each other out.
I use my instrument
to pIay a few weII-known tunes.
If peopIe Iike it,
they give me something.
I don't pick the pockets
of the peopIe who waIk by.
That's not why I'm here.
I'm making a Iiving
from my instrument.
Thanks to this,
I'II be abIe to feed my mother
and my IittIe brothers soon.
If I cross paths with someone
who has a good heart,
who couId support me
so that I couId work on my music,
I'II do great things
with this instrument.
The day after we meet him,
we introduce Roger
to the Staff Benda BiIiIi musicians.
Other than that,
is everything OK?
We're aII here.
Try to pIay in the right scaIe.
Yeah, I'm trying.
First I have to tune this.
It's the IittIe soIoist.
I can pIay haIf tones.
With that thing?
He can pIay aII the notes!
It's the neck over there
that produces the tone.
I'm curious to hear it.
He rocks!
Roger, come a IittIe cIoser.
LittIe Roger...
TeII me, what's your race?
- Age?
- No, race. What tribe?
I'm Mayumbe.
From Lower Congo?
Is Mayumbe in Lower Congo?
In which viIIage do you Iive?
In Kisenso.
It'II take time and work.
I'm going to work with him
for a whiIe.
If he works hard,
he'II become a good guitar pIayer.
I see that...
he's stiII young.
In time,
in three or four years,
he'II do good things.
On the side.
That's good.
For the handicapped,
life is a battle
One day you eat,
the next you don't
ln life, the wheel of fortune turns
my friend
Never forget that
Never forget that
What's that white guy fiIming?
What's your probIem?
Did he fiIm you?
Are you the poIice?
You're in our way!
You're screwing up my work.
Whatever.
Are you from a smaII viIIage?
Haven't you ever seen a camera
in your Iife?
You do nothing in Iife.
Leave us aIone, you idiot!
SHELTER FOR THE PHYSICALLY
HANDICAPPED
BANDAL NEIGHBOURHOOD
He's starting to get it.
Is it something Iike this, man?
It's coming, IittIe by IittIe.
No, you're aIready in tune.
I have to get it.
My mother has been sick
since her divorce.
My father hit her.
He hit her on the head
and she was traumatised.
She spends aII day at home Iike that,
without any money.
With my IittIe brothers there,
it was Iike a henhouse.
I had to Ieave home
to Iive my Iife.
I didn't run away.
I'II go back when I've succeeded.
Now that I'm a member
of the Staff Benda BiIiIi,
everything's going to be OK.
I'm patient.
I know my time wiII come.
They pIay reaIIy weII.
September 2005,
after one month of rehearsaI,
Staff Benda BiIiIi enter a studio
for the first time.
STUDIO I.C.A, KINSHASA,
LINGWALA NEIGHBOURHOOD
No, stop.
Like we said,
if someone messes up,
we start over.
Let's start over.
No! It's the soIo, damn it.
Concentrate.
We're on the second verse.
Roger, tomorrow at noon.
We'II meet here at noon.
Staff Benda Bilili
Try to understand
What you need to do
to pull through this rotten life
The girls on the streets
are crying
They want to hear Staff
The children on the streets
are crying
They want to hear Staff
Ju! Come in here.
PuII curtain, we're going to bed.
And cIose the door.
It's reaIIy perfect.
Papa Ricky?
It's your wife.
We Iost everything.
There was a fire.
Everything!
The whoIe sheIter burned down.
I couIdn't saIvage anything.
No, not just us.
Everyone's in the same position.
I just got here.
Everything burned down.
It happens. That's Iife.
This is my youngest son.
We had four.
Four chiIdren.
Tonight,
he was supposed to sIeep
at the BandaI SheIter.
Why is he so sick?
I don't know.
Maybe it's because
I don't breastfeed him anymore.
I just stopped.
It seems Iike you don't want
to have any more babies.
More babies?
I hope you're kidding.
The fire that destroyed central Bandal
started during a recording session-
Overnight Benda Bilili had ended up
back on the streets with their families-
They were facing problems
of basic survival-
Despite all Ricky's efforts,
work in the studio
had become impossible-
There was no point-
Weeks passed
and the group broke up-
Roger went back to his village-
With heavy hearts,
we decided to return to France-
We gave Ricky
our last remaining dollars
and promised him
we'd find a way of finishing the album-
One year later,
backed by a record label,
we were back in Kinshasa-
JULY 2006
This is my business.
Without this,
I couIdn't make it.
With this, everything is OK.
It's Benda BiIiIi.
The Benda BiIiIi Store.
OPPOSITION DENOUNCES
ELECTORAL FRAUD
In the hopes of finishing the aIbum,
Ricky tries to find the musicians
and take up rehearsaIs.
GOD IS THE ONLY ONE
PROTECTING THIS VEHICLE
Who's waiting for us down there?
Is it near GambeIa?
Towards GambeIa?
Or is it near Ngiri Ngiri?
Avenue KwaIu?
KwiIu?
Near the City CounciI?
There's no way.
Where are you going, oId guy?
I'm Iooking for Roger.
Do you know him?
He pIays the monochord.
With a miIk tin.
- The thing that goes ''gIing gIing''?
- That's it.
He pIays soIos.
Do you know where he Iives?
- The guitar with the tin?
- That's right.
- He Iives in Lemba Imbwa.
- Where is that?
- Very far away.
- You'II show me.
- Can we drive there?
- That's impossibIe.
Forget it, I'II never find him.
Push through that way.
I'm going to die!
Mums and dads,
trust in God!
Don't Iook back!
You can't miss
those years of unempIoyment!
Don't expect too much
from the eIections
because onIy God
can bring peace back to Congo.
PeopIe of Congo,
who wiII you beIieve?
PeopIe of Congo,
in whom wiII you pIace your hope?
PIace it in the hands of God!
He who restored
the peopIe of IsraeI!
He is the same yesterday,
today and for aII eternity!
HaIIeIuiah!
God wiII visit our sons.
God wiII visit our country,
He wiII visit our famiIies.
God wiII restore this country,
God wiII bIess this country.
Let's appeaI to Him.
Let Him hear our Iament.
By the victorious bIood of Jesus!
- President.
- Yes?
There you are.
We have a Iot of work ahead of us.
RehearsaI starts at two.
Practice the song we taIked about.
KINSHASA ZOO
September 2006,
the producer Vincent Kenis
meets us in Kinshasa
with his portabIe studio.
For the first session,
he records them
where they rehearse: the zoo.
These mosquitoes...
Marguerite, my sister
Marguerite, my sister
We were born of the same father
But other children
were born after us
Our families separated
Today, you're on one side
of the river, and l'm on the other
The only thing left between us
is Vodacom
The only thing left between us
is Telecel
And l'm left here all alone
And l'm just left here
One day l eat,
the next l don't
Everyone has their lucky day
Today it's you,
tomorrow it's him
Your time will come soon
Marguerite in Brazza,
Coco in DRC
Separated by this damn river
Come on, puII them out.
Hey kid, get off my ride.
You're acting Iike a viIIager.
You won't get to Europe
by hanging on to my bike.
You kids are reaIIy Iow Iives.
I heard that the aIbum
isn't ready yet.
We have to go back to studio.
We screwed up some of the songs.
We have to do them over.
We have to fix it,
we have to concentrate.
So we messed up?
Before,
our probIems
got in the way of our work.
We kept messing up,
we had to do severaI takes.
We're recording for the third time.
Our sound engineer came back.
This time,
we'II get it right.
Let's put our probIems
- the fact we sIeep on cardboard -
aside untiI we have an aIbum
in our hands.
Coco, how are you?
SEPTEMBER 2007,
GOMBE HALL
Our work here is done.
It sounds beautifuI.
Great music.
The new sound of the worId.
The worId's new idoI
is Staff Benda BiIiIi.
It wiII be the event.
Never in the history of the worId
has this been seen.
''Unmixed - unedited''.
They did a good job.
It's beautifuI.
- Let me see it.
- It's beautifuI.
I'm very happy about this.
In the future,
we're going to make a Iiving.
My orchestra
is Staff Benda Bilili
lt will never die
We'll be better and better
so we can play with the big boys
Like Werrason or Papa Wemba
Great artists
like Koffi Olomide
Why not us?
We're as good as they are
Our heads and our hands
work hard
We work so that it will pay off
and we'll make it
The sun shines on everyone
My brothers form Staff
Let's always perfect our art
For Staffs children
l love you
We're going to sIeep on boards.
Soon, I'II buy myseIf a mattress.
March 2009, after two Iong years,
the aIbum Tres tres fort
is coming out aII over the worId.
Why are you making fun of me?
Because l'm crippled?
Why are you making fun of me?
Who do you think you are?
Why are you making fun of me?
Because l sleep on cardboard?
Why are you making fun of me?
You make me laugh
l sleep on cardboard
OPENING CONCER FOR THE ALBUM
FRENCH CULTURAL CENTRE
l sleep on cardboard
l jump on boards
Born on cardboard,
asleep on boards
All day long on boards
Went to Europe on a board
Street children
dance on boards
Who doesn't sleep on cardboard?
We dream on it too
We screw on cardboard
asleep on boards
We do more than just sleep
my life began on a board
We fight for boards
l dream of Europe on a board
l'll go from cardboard to luxury
l get high on a board
We got 800 doIIars
for the concert.
Staff Benda BiIiIi!
Very, very strong!
You're missing 40? Here.
You can't count, huh?
You're a bad secretary.
It's Roger's turn.
Tomorrow, you'II pay
your mum's hospitaI biII.
She can't come out untiI you pay.
Get your mother out of the hospitaI.
AII right?
And 10 doIIars for you.
Share, OK?
- Who's the oIdest?
- He is.
You think you can steaI from me?
- I'm Iike your father!
- It wasn't me, man!
I didn't do anything, man!
We're aII on the streets,
I wouId never do that!
Roger, we're on the same team.
Beat him up, Roger!
Did you steaI from me?
Go to the cops!
Do you want to end up in jaiI?
- Why did you do that?
- Man, I promise...
Don't you dare do it again!
Man, you're our President.
Let's drink champagne.
We're here to ceIebrate!
We have two bottIes
to share.
- That's for us.
- The ''outside sIeepers''.
Today we're going to party!
Get out of here.
This champagne is a present
from Staff Benda BiIiIi.
It's our movement.
If we put our destinies
in your hands, we'II go far.
If you go too fast,
break with your butt.
Benda BiIiIi are paving the way.
Drink, IittIe guy.
This is my part.
Tres tres fort, their first album
coming out in France-
And they really are
very, very strong-
Picture an orchestra
of paraplegics
living on the streets-
Their rehearsal room
is the Kinshasa zoo---
We're right here.
They'll be playing
in the very big festival,
the Eurockeennes in Belfort-
Bravo!
Thank you, my friend!
We'II be in Europe soon.
That's so cooI!
I'd Iike to know...
What is there in Europe
that's so great?
I see peopIe who are ready to die
to go to Europe.
I am too.
But what's over there?
WeII, it's a country...
It's a country that not everyone
can go into.
Some can, others can't.
- It's a country...
- Not everyone gets in?
Like I said, some can go in,
others can't.
So it's a country...
God made that country so that...
So that we couId compare it to ours.
So too many peopIe want to go there.
We're Iucky that at Ieast
God aIIowed our fathers
to go to Europe.
They'II make Iots of dough
over there.
And we'II benefit from it.
We'II have good Iives,
we'II have houses,
a good inheritance...
They dream of going to Europe too.
They've been put in a cage,
Iike prisoners.
Like a bird, l'll fly
All the way to beautiful Europe
Like a bird, l'll fly
All the way to beautiful Europe
The day Roger was oId enough
to go to schooI,
I bought his uniform,
his schooI suppIies...
And on the first day of cIass,
he soId everything!
He said, ''Mum,
schooI won't get me to Europe.
''This monochord thing wiII.''
- What's it caIIed?
- A satonge-
A satonge?
He said his satonge
wouId get him to Europe.
I have nothing to say.
You can see how we Iive.
Ever since you were born,
I've had nothing but probIems.
You know how you were born,
how I had to raise you,
how much I suffered.
Me, your mother.
You know aII that.
Not too Iong ago,
I couIdn't Ieave the hospitaI
because of a 100 doIIar debt.
Don't mess around over there.
If you faiI, it'II kiII me.
You can fooI around here
but over there they have the Law.
If you mess up
and they send you back,
the others wiII make fun of us.
The famiIy despises us
because I'm raising deIinquents.
I want your bad-mouthing
uncIes to know
that the deIinquent went to Europe.
Tomorrow there wiII be no teasing,
no disdain.
Put them to shame, shut them up.
You have to behave over there.
We're counting on you.
Your two oIder brothers
didn't make it.
It's up to you to do your best
to feed your famiIy.
Your brothers couIdn't do it
so you have to take their pIace.
Thanks for the advice,
that was heIpfuI.
JULY 2nd 2009
So today's the big day, President.
You're aII jeaIous.
- Papa Coco.
- Yes?
WiII you bring me a doII?
Yes, I'II buy you one.
And for you too.
We're leaving with our friends
We'll leave you here to worry
To worry
We're leaving with our friends
We'll leave you this song
To worry
You can't say I didn't warn you.
I'm going to Paris and beIieve me,
I'm going to be a big hit!
Be strong, kid.
What are you doing?
Keep your member to yourseIf
over there.
- Don't fooI around.
- I won't do anything.
You didn't eat anything.
That's OK, we'II eat over there.
Don't cry.
I'II bring you a bike.
Black man, wake up
Get up and you'll understand
From the beginning of time
All you've done is sleep too much
Wake up and you'll see the sun
Already high in the sky
Look in front of you
Your rivers are teeming with fish
Look behind you
Your forests are packed with game
The ground you walk on
is full of gold and diamonds
Black man---
- This airport is...
- Roissy.
- Roissy.
- Roissy-CharIes-de-GauIIe.
We have to knock 'em dead,
here in France.
Let's give them aII we've got,
so they'II remember us.
Then other countries
wiII invite us.
The stakes are high
for this concert.
Did you see the chickens here?
They're huge.
They seII us the skinny ones.
But they give us a good price.
It's a beautifuI city.
The city of de Bedfort.
BeIfort!
JULY 5th 2009
EUROCKEENNES FESTIVAL,
BELFORT, FRANCE
After the concert,
you'II go meet the girIs!
They'II aII come and say,
''I Iove you.''
But be carefuI,
it's not Iike the Congo here.
If they get cIingy, you say,
''Honey, I'm off to Germany.''
Staff Benda BiIiIi.
Very, very strong!
We're going to be on fire today!
It's hot out.
l'm an orphan, alone in the world
My parents died
a long time ago
My daddy told me never to steal
He'd say, ''Listen to me
and you'll live a long life''
Kids don't listen anymore
They join gangs,
the Kuluna
Our advice goes out the window
it's so hard
There's nothing to eat at home
so they join the Kuluna
Delinquents, gangsters, the Kuluna
What's the solution? The Kuluna
What's this Kuluna business, Roger?
Tell us about it
Before he died, my daddy said,
''lf you want to live a long life,
avoid problems
''And respect the world's principles''
l'm just a kid,
l have a long way ahead of me
l listened to my old man
And l'm still alive
Young man,
your parents are there to help you
Being in a gang is short-term
You're playing with your life,
little brother
Very, very strong!
We're visiting Iots of countries.
After Germany,
we're off to Denmark.
We won a trophy.
Tomorrow they've giving us a trophy
because we won.
And then we're taking a pIane
to another country.
To OsIo which is even farther.
I couIdn't caII you before
but everything is fine.
It's very coId.
AII the musicians say hi.
She hung up.
No more credit!
l used to sleep on cardboard
l used to sleep on cardboard
You have to be strong, right?
The work mentaIity.
Work is serious business.
We're serious, sure,
but we're freezing our asses.
- It's freezing!
- It's tough.
They don't fooI around here.
If you mess up,
you turn into an ice cube.
They were wrong,
those who didn't beIieve in us.
Staff was our project.
And today that project
is coming to Iife.
It's becoming a reaIity.
Hey, my friend, never forget
Today you have a plate
but you used to eat on the ground
Hey, my friend, never forget
Today from a plate,
tomorrow, on the ground
My friend, don't forget
Don't forget
the wind can blow the other way
Never forget
Hey, President. This is
the Argentinean Ambassador's wife.
- Argentinean?
- The Ambassador's wife.
PIeased to meet you.
- She speaks French.
- PIeased to meet you.
You speak French?
Thank you.
- I forgot.
- You forgot your French?
SeveraI years?
Where's the Ambassador?
- Ambassador.
- That's me.
Yes, she toId us that.
Thank you.
HeIIo, ExceIIence.
ExceIIence.
- Argentina.
- You're very kind.
Staff, straight ahead
Benda Bilili
What do you need to pull through
Your rotten life?
Staff, straight ahead
Benda Bilili
How do you pull through
Your rotten life?
Carried by Staffs love,
we will never die
ln Staffs hands, we get ahead
ln Staffs hands, we get ahead
Our leaders don't care about us
We stay strong no matter what
Our leaders don't care about us
We only count on each other
Staff Benda Bilili!
You have to understand
ln order to pull through
your rotten life
This whisky is strong!
Drink up.
Come on, a IittIe for Papa Ricky.
- Is there any weed around?
- Yeah, I Iike that better.
We'II get in troubIe.
Smoking weed is serious here.
You can't get caught.
I heard they have
marijuana detectors.
- Those things on the ceiIing?
- No, those are just...
If the smoke gets too thick,
they throw water everywhere.
Everything's wet
and you have to Ieave the hoteI.
- ImmediateIy.
- You Ieave your room right away.
You have to watch out.
Of aII of us,
the one who was most affected
by our success is Roger.
It reaIIy stirred him up.
You shouId see the kid
in his neighbourhood.
He's become a music master
in his neighbourhood.
- He bought a TV.
- A TV and everything!
- A couch.
- A mattress. He organised his Iife.
At 18,
Roger has become a man.
He'II have a house,
he's straightening himseIf out.
I guarantee you,
this kid wiII do great things.
Papa Ricky knows
that his chiId has grown up.
He knows I'm making progress.
He knows his chiId has a future
in Staff Benda BiIiIi.
He often says,
''We're going to die soon.
''We're getting oId,
you have to take over the orchestra.''
We've suffered together.
Ricky knows I come from far away.
I want him to know
that he can count on me.
TransIation: Ana Zappa
SubtitIes TITRA FILM Paris