Historic edifice as cinematic protagonist
When the lights dim at CanalOlympia Brazzaville on 11 October, the audience will discover that the true protagonist of “Memories of the CFRAD” is neither a single hero nor a fictional narrative but a building whose walls have witnessed the 20th and 21st centuries unfold. The Centre for Training and Research in Dramatic Arts, better known by its French acronym CFRAD, began life in 1904 as the Cercle civil et militaire français. It hosted, among other pivotal gatherings, the 1944 Brazzaville Conference chaired by General Charles de Gaulle. Hassim Tall Boukambou’s long-form documentary turns the camera toward this palimpsest of stone and memory, allowing each layer of history to speak in its own voice.
Director’s archival quest for collective memory
Born in 1972 in Brazzaville, Boukambou has acquired a reputation for meticulous, almost archaeological documentary practice. His earlier trilogy “Révolutionnaire(s)” etched the tremors of Congolese political life—most notably the “Trois Glorieuses” of 13–15 August 1963—into the audiovisual record. In “Memories of the CFRAD” he pursues the same credo: safeguarding voices at risk of fading into oblivion. The film strings together appearances by historic figures such as Maxime Ndebeka, Robert Brazza, Franklin Boukaka, Michel Raféa, Mère Geo and contemporary artists like Mariusca Moukengue. Archival footage, recorded testimony and newly digitised photographs converge, creating what the director describes as “an echo chamber where the forgotten converse with the living.”
From colonial club to cultural campus
The documentary’s narrative arc mirrors the physical metamorphosis of the site it portrays. After decades of neglect, the CFRAD is now undergoing rehabilitation aimed at restoring a fully equipped auditorium, training studios and a permanent exhibition detailing its multifaceted roles since 1904. Early in the refurbishment process residents were invited to submit artefacts—tickets, playbills, personal letters—that trace the edifice’s journey from colonial social club to post-independence theatre. This appeal for community participation underlines a conviction that heritage is not merely housed in institutions but scattered across private attics and family photo albums.
Community call to reclaim heritage
The film’s premiere therefore doubles as a civic ritual. By paying for admission, Brazzaville’s citizens become patrons of their own story, reaffirming the city’s identity as a cultural capital. “We want spectators to feel they are entering both a cinema and an archive,” Boukambou notes, emphasising that the screening is only a first step toward broader public engagement. Activists, historians and students are expected to debate the film’s material, enabling multiple generations to interrogate and perhaps reconcile divergent memories of the same walls.
Economic stakes of an artistic renaissance
À retenir: the renovation of the CFRAD signals a wider recognition that culture can generate economic as well as symbolic value. Restored performance spaces attract tourism, encourage creative entrepreneurship and foster job creation in sectors ranging from stage design to digital archiving. Even the single evening of the premiere will mobilise technicians, vendors and hospitality operators, illustrating how heritage revival ripples through local supply chains. Le point juridique/éco: while the funding mechanisms behind the site’s overhaul have not been publicly detailed, the project implicitly relies on a framework that balances public oversight with private initiative, a model increasingly prevalent in cultural infrastructure across Central Africa.
Brazzaville’s modern role in cultural diplomacy
By curating a journey from 1904 to 2024, “Memories of the CFRAD” positions Brazzaville not only as a witness to pan-African artistic evolution but also as an interlocutor with global audiences. The inclusion of General de Gaulle’s 1944 conference situates the Congolese capital within broader narratives of decolonisation and geopolitical negotiation. At a moment when nations worldwide reassess the stewardship of their cultural assets, the film offers a timely reminder that preservation is both a domestic responsibility and an international conversation.
A screen lit, a door reopened
When the credits roll on 11 October, attendees will exit not merely with cinematic impressions but with a renewed invitation to step inside the CFRAD once its doors reopen to the public. In weaving together personal testimonies, historical milestones and the promise of a revitalised arts complex, Boukambou’s documentary underscores a quiet certainty: memory, when carefully tended, becomes a seedbed for future creation. In that sense, the premiere is less an end-point than the prologue to another, still-unwritten chapter of Congolese cultural life.