Patrice Lumumba played a decisive role in the liberation of the Congo from the colonial
yoke. Shortly afterwards, he was betrayed by those close to him, overthrown and
summarily executed in Katanga on the January 17, 1961. Even though we know about
many of those who orchestrated his death, there remain many unanswered questions.
Where exactly did this massacre take place? Who was present? On whose orders? Who
is to blame?
Sven Augustijnen takes these shady questions that haunt Belgium as much as the Congo
as the starting point of his enquiries: using facts, their contemporary echoes and what has
been brushed over as “historical fact”. His guide is an elusive character of noble birth –
Jacques Brassinne de la Buissière, who was working in the Congo as a high-ranking civil
servant at the time. Author of a biography of Lumumba, this man spent many years
carrying out research into the history of this period. The film-maker goes with him to meet
witnesses and protagonists. Between factual truth, the strength of conviction in the words
of some and the possible duplicity of others, between Belgium and the Congo, the camera
opens up a wide angle. It scrutinizes the surroundings, observes the gestures and glances,
diving into the uncertain layers of truth, revealing the minutiae of the witness accounts.
Paced with extracts from Jean-Sebastian Bach’s Passion, powerful elegiac breaths of fresh
air that recall the Congolese martyr. Spectres invents new form of investigation which
assumes the right to question not just History – both its living players and phantom
witnesses – but also how it is recorded, restoring to all both their bodies and their terrible
night to the point of opacity. (NF)