To say that **Benda Bilili! **could be this year's **Buena Vista Social Club **is a lazy parallel, but it's a lazy parallel that's not about to be looked in the face, gift-horse style. Both are musical docs that leave you with the warm and fuzzies; both are rags-to-riches tales; and both are chock full of songs that may be unfamiliar to begin with but will rattle around your brain for weeks afterwards.
A musical documentary made by a pair of French filmmakers, **Benda Bilili! **was serendipitous from the outset. Graphic artist Renaud Barret arrived in the Congolese capital of Kinshasa in 2004 planning to spend ten days with his girlfriend. While he was there he ran into Staff Benda Bilili, a group of street musicians, many polio-stricken, who used the city's zoo for rehearsals and played with a skill and charisma that belied their brutal circumstances. Plus, as you can see from this new clip, they turned out to be some very chill dudes.
It's the stuff movies are made of, so that's exactly what Barret did. He brought in his friend, photojournalist Florent de La Tullaye, and the two followed the musical collective for five years.
The journey culminated on March 18 when Benda Bilili! finally arrives in cinemas.
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