Celebration ignites Brazzaville
Brazzaville’s Institut français du Congo pulsed with energy from 28 to 31 October 2025 as writers, actors and readers gathered to honour the Congolese literary phratrie on the thirtieth anniversary of novelist Sylvain Bemba’s passing.
Four dense days of theatre, slam, readings, exhibitions and debates transformed the venue into a living library, blending nostalgia with fresh ambition and reminding the capital that stories still bind communities more tightly than any digital thread.
Honouring Congolese literary giants
Event organisers chose as overarching question: “What has become of the Congolese phratrie, thirty years after Bemba?” The formulation set a reflective tone, encouraging visitors to examine the line connecting yesterday’s pioneers with today’s creators.
The programme opened brilliantly with Mbongui Théâtre performing Sony Labou Tansi’s “Antoine m’a vendu son destin”, a collage of pulsating drums, stark lights and defiant humour that framed the entire festival as a dialogue between art and citizen.
Throughout the foyer, black-and-white portraits of Jean Malonga, Henri Lopès, Tchicaya U’Tam’si and other luminaries looked down on the crowd, silently asserting a lineage that stretches from colonial magazines to today’s viral spoken-word videos.
Debates, theatre and slam energise youth
Two packed round-tables offered the densest scholarship. Professor Mukala Kadima Nzuji revisited the magazine “Liaison” and its role in mid-century nation-building, while Professor André-Patient Bokiba charted the slow shift from oral tradition to print without losing ancestral rhythms.
Later, the Association Nouvel Art traced Congolese theatre from parish courtyards to contemporary downtown stages, noting how mobile phones now serve as both ticket booth and marketing suite for troupes hungry to reach audiences beyond Brazzaville or Pointe-Noire.
Spectators then filed into the smaller hall for Maloba troupe’s revival of Sylvain Ntari Bemba’s “La valse interrompue”, a work whose post-independence doubts spoke uncannily to present-day conversations about unemployment and civic responsibility.
If the plays anchored history, the slam sessions exploded into realities. Poems titled “Letter to Sylvain Ntari Bemba”, “Letter to José Pivin” and “You Don’t Need Peace, I Need Justice” ricocheted off the walls, mixing Lingala, Kituba and French in cadences.
Between verses, teenage volunteers pressed QR codes into spectators’ hands, linking to free e-books of Congolese classics. The gesture captured the festival’s core aim: make heritage portable so a commuter along Matsoua can swipe, read and share before the next bus stop.
Voices of guidance and partnership
A video link with New York allowed Emmanuel Boundzeki Dongala, guest of honour, to answer questions about diaspora publishing. “Read, fraternise, strive,” he urged, praising organisers and gently suggesting stronger state backing to scale similar initiatives nationwide.
Patrice Yengo, the historian who conceived the commemoration, underlined the collective effort. “With the IFC as sole institutional partner, artists and readers proved that remembrance can be self-powered,” he said, noting overflowing attendance even during weekday mornings.
Actors agree. Mbongui Théâtre’s director Jean-Louis Ouakabaka stressed that high-quality lighting, subsidised transport and rehearsal spaces remain essential for troupes wishing to tour departments like Niari or Cuvette. “The audience exists; we must reach it where it lives,” he insisted.
Government representatives could not attend every session, yet observers note growing public-private synergies, including mobile telecom support for e-book platforms and municipal grants encouraging school visits to the IFC. Many participants hope the momentum will turn into sustained reading campaigns.
Next steps for a vibrant reading nation
Looking ahead, organisers plan to digitise rare manuscripts by Sony Labou Tansi and Henri Lopès, creating an online portal where students can annotate texts collaboratively. The pilot, scheduled for early 2026, aims to cut data costs so rural cybercafés can join the conversation.
Meanwhile, secondary schools in Brazzaville are already integrating festival content into lesson plans. Teachers report that staging short scenes from “Une journée dans la vie” increases attendance and sparks debate about science, satire and civic duty across classrooms.
In a city where traffic updates, football scores and commodity prices dominate push notifications, four autumn days proved that literature too can trend. The phratrie commemoration reminded citizens that celebrating words is not escapism but a roadmap for cohesive, forward-looking communities.
Economists at the festival observed another benefit: nurturing a creative industry that employs stage technicians, printers, booksellers and digital designers. According to sociologist Désiré Mavouenzela, each theatre ticket sparks ripple purchases, from street snacks to motorcycle rides, sustaining micro-entrepreneurs ignored in policy papers.
As applause faded on 31 October, organisers lit a single candle beside Sylvain Bemba’s portrait, symbolically handing the flame to the next generation. Phones rose, flashes fired, and within minutes the image spread across local networks, turning remembrance into a shared, forward-tilting hashtag.
Plans are underway for a travelling mini-phratrie to visit markets from Makélékélé to Oyo, packing foldable stages, e-readers and projectors into one truck, ensuring the conversation begun in Brazzaville echoes along the Congo River Road.
