20TH edition NOVEMBER 24 TO DECEMBER 2, 2023
20th edition
November 24 to December 2, 2023
A director, cinematographer, and producer, Nelson Makengo lives and works in Kinshasa. His fifth film, Nuit Debout (2019), was named Best Short Documentary at the Amsterdam International Documentary Film Festival and was screened at more than one hundred festivals around the world. Rising Up at Night, which had its premiere in the Panorama section of the Berlin International Film Festival, is his first feature-length documentary.
Kinshasa and its inhabitants are in darkness. They wait and struggle for access to light. Positioned between hope, disappointment, and religious faith, Rising Up at Night is a subtle and fragmented portrait of a population that, despite the challenges it faces, is sublimated by the beauty of Kinshasa’s nights.
Director Nelson Makengo
Producer Rosa Spaliviero, Dada Kahindo Siku
Screenwriter Nelson Makengo
Cinematographer Nelson Makengo
Production Designer
Art Director
Editor Inneke Van Waeyenberghe
Sound Franck Moka, Moimi Wezam, Laszlo Umbreit, Rémi Gerard
Music Bao Sissoko, Wouter Vandenabeele
Color Color
Supported by 
Production Company Twenty Nine Studio & Production, Mutotu Productions
International Sales Company Square Eyes
Founded by His Majesty King Mohammed VI in July 2002, the Marrakech International Film Festival Foundation is a non-profit organization of public interest.
Presided over by His Royal Highness Prince Moulay Rachid, the Foundation has as its primary objective the organisation of the Marrakech International Film Festival and any related events, all of which aim to encourage the creation, promotion, and distribution of works of cinema throughout the Kingdom of Morocco and around the globe.
Founded by His Majesty King Mohammed VI in July 2002, the Marrakech International Film Festival Foundation is a non-profit organization of public interest.
Presided over by His Royal Highness Prince Moulay Rachid, the Foundation has as its primary objective the organisation of the Marrakech International Film Festival and any related events, all of which aim to encourage the creation, promotion, and distribution of works of cinema throughout the Kingdom of Morocco and around the globe.