Congo Business Case
Dir. Hans Bouma
The Netherlands, 2013, 81min.
French, Dutch & Lingala w/ English subtitles
Disillusioned by his experience at the United Nations, Daniel Knoop quits his job as a development worker and starts up his own business. He believes Congo can turn into the granary of the African continent. The Congolese farmers receive Daniel as a savior because he is the first trader to arrive since the civil war ended. A year later, the project has failed miserably and Daniel leaves without a word, leaving the farmers to wonder what really happened.
Post-screening discussion with filmmaker Hans Bouma and Eastern Congo Initiative’s Harper McConnell
Filmmaker:
Hans Bouma studied cinematography at the Dutch Film Academy in Amsterdam and received his Bachelor's degree in Philosophy at the University of Amsterdam. His graduate project was a mockumentary called Castro's Tears, which won best short documentary at the Dutch Film Festival in 1997. Congo Business Case is his first feature documentary as a director. Hans works mostly as DP for documentaries and television and is based in Amsterdam, The Netherlands.
Special Guest:
Harper McConnell is Director of Development & Operations for Eastern Congo Initiative, an eastern Congo-focused advocacy and grant making initiative founded by Ben Affleck. Harper has worked in DRC for more than seven years and started up the ECI office in DRC, developing organizational strategy and leading grant-making and program development in the field. Her regional expertise has been instrumental to the success of ECI in DRC and to developing ECI’s coffee and cocoa initiatives. Prior to working with ECI, Harper held positions of Program Officer and Director of Development at HEAL Africa, based both in Goma, DRC, and Seattle, WA. Harper holds two degrees from the University of Minnesota and speaks fluent English, French and Swahili.