Mikuba

Mikuba takes us deep into the cobalt veins of Kolwezi, the beating heart of the world’s cobalt supply, where the battle for a sustainable green energy future is fought in dust and heat. This global race to secure the essential element powering electric vehicles and renewable energy puts immense pressure on the land and its people. Amid this scramble, the film reveals the lives of local custodians – artisanal and small-scale miners – who stand resolute as the guardians of ancestral wealth and wisdom. At the center of the story is Mama Leance, a determined and resourceful trader, navigating the labyrinth of multinational copper and cobalt giants that dominate the region. Her journey uncovers the stark reality of a system designed to exploit, but it also leads her to an unexpected path: toward Master Kangalele, the enigmatic guardian of Lwanzo Lwa Mikuba’s ancient practice. Through his teachings, the spiritual and cultural dimensions of the land come alive, offering a counter-narrative to the extractive forces that threaten to erase them.

Mwalimu Ndaliko Katondolo (Petna) is a filmmaker, educator, and an ancestral ecologist living between Goma, DR Congo and Chapel Hill, USA. His multi-genre artistic works are known for their decolonial Afrofuturistic artistic style, which engages historical content to address contemporary sociopolitical and cultural issues. In 1994 he co- founded Maideni, an ecological youth movement, and in 2000 he co-founded Yole!Africa. Ndaliko Katondolo teaches and consults regularly for international organizations, addressing social, ecological, and political inequity among marginalized groups through culture and art. Following Matata (2019), Kapita (2020), and Kumbuka (2022) this is his forth participation in Forum Expanded.

Director Petna Ndaliko Katondolo. Cinematography Petna Ndaliko Katondolo. Editing Jobson Madibo Mwendiki. Music Popal Isee Vosi. Sound Design Petna Ndaliko Katondolo. Sound Libu Manga Rachidi. Production Design Stella Ramazani Nyota. Producers Stella Ramazani, Maurice Carney. Executive Producers Stella Ramazani Nyota, Maurice Carney. Production company Alkebu Film Production (Goma, Democratic Republic of the Congo).

Films: 2004: Théâtre Brûlé (10 min.), Lamokowang (13 min.). 2005: Threatened Fate (7 min.), Ma-dia (7 min.), Goma Capitale du Cinéma (21 min.). 2007: Pandisha Bandera (45 min.). 2008: True Story Short (13 min.). 2010: Jazz Mama (32 min.). 2012: Melting Justice (5 min.). 2013: Mabele na Biso (34 min.). 2014: Myth Eyes (3 min.). 2016: The Dead Are Not Dead (10 min.). 2019: Danze (21 min.), Matata (37 min., Forum Expanded 2020). 2020: Kapita (22 min., Forum Expanded 2021). 2021: Kumbuka (59 min., Forum Expanded 2022). 2023: Mahere (60 min.). 2024: Katasumbika (37 min.). 2025: Mikuba / Cobalt.

The screening dates for MIKUBA on berlinale.de