HEART OF AFRICA 2: COMPANIONS

HEART OF AFRICA 2: COMPANIONS . . . the story continues

Another beautifully made film from the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Heart of Africa 2: Companions, tells the same story as 2020’s acclaimed Heart of Africa but from the American missionary’s point of view. This second film focuses on issues of vital and current interest, including racial conflict and how to overcome it.

SYNOPSIS

Jason Martin arrives in the Democratic Republic of the Congo as a missionary and is assigned to work with a young Congolese man, Gabriel Ngandu, to build an orphanage. They struggle to understand each other and overcome prejudices, betrayals, and tragic events in their pasts. As they work together to become true companions in serving those around them, Elder Martin opens his heart to a beautiful nation and people on the brink of magnificent possibilities.

PREMIERE and THEATRICAL RELEASE

The premiere of Heart of Africa 2: Companions took place on February 25, 2021 at the Scera Center for the Arts, Orem, Utah, as part of the 20th LDS Film Festival.

Theatrical release followed the next day, February 26, in several Larry H. Miller Megaplex Theaters. Further screenings are planned during March and April 2021.

HOW DID "HEART OF AFRICA 2: COMPANIONS" COME TO BE?

The filming of Heart of Africa–both the original film and its successor Heart of Africa 2–took place in the Democratic Republic of the Congo in 2018 and 2019. The first rough cut was about 4 hours long, and even when that was reduced to a version of about 2 hours, it was clear that the film needed more focus.

The result was a 90-minute film–Heart of Africa–released in March 2020. (For more on the remarkable story behind the making and release of that film, see http://heartofafricafilm.com/about/.) This film focuses on the story of Gabriel Ngandu, a young Congolese man who is struggling to understand the meaning of his life. He ends up discovering the power within himself and a meaningful path forward.

Even then, the filmmaking team felt there was another story to tell: that of Elder Ngandu’s companion, Jason Martin, an American who is also searching for his life’s meaning. By careful editing of the footage filmed in 2018 and 2019, Elder Martin’s story comes into clear focus. Heart of Africa 2 overlaps at a few points with the original Heart of Africa, but most of the second film consists of footage not seen in the earlier one. Besides new music and other post-production work, the only addition to the footage shot in 2018 and 2019 is a series of voice overs provided by Brandon Ray Olive, the actor who plays Elder Martin. These voice overs include quotations from the German poet Rilke along with Elder Martin’s reflections on the amazing journey to which his mission call to the Congo led him.

Director Tshoper Kabambi did most of the editing of Heart of Africa 2: Companions while stuck in the United States as the result of the coronavirus pandemic, which prevented him from returning to the Congo until 4 months later than he had planned.

During his time in the United States, Kabambi witnessed first-hand America’s struggle with the pandemic as well as the nation’s and the world’s “racial reckoning”–the anguish, the protests, and the self-examination that followed the killing of George Floyd.  As it happens, the screenplay for both Heart of Africa films already dealt with issues of racial conflict and reconciliation–issues that have become even more crucial since the first film was released in March 2020.

For more of the story . . .

For more of the story behind the story, see “Another Side to ‘Heart of Africa’: Sequel Comes to the Big Screen,” an article in Meridian Magazine by Margaret Blair Young, co-writer of the film. (The full article appears further below.)

A REVIEW OF Heart of Africa 2: COMPANIONS

(Note: The following review by Tim Torkildson was posted on his website–“Tim Torkildson’s Clown Alley”–on March 5, 2021.)

Despite pandemic restrictions, the movie “Heart of Africa 2” is still showing in theaters across Utah and receiving a warm reception from hardy cinephiles who enjoy its timely story line and the sincere performances of the main actors and actresses.

It would be a shame if this film, which won third place for a feature film at the recent LDS Film Festival, is allowed to slip out of theaters anytime soon. It’s one of those films that will benefit from word of mouth and grow a respectable audience if given half a chance.

It’s message of intercultural understanding and the relevance of conflict resolution in today’s disintegrating world has never been more important — or needed. According to one of the movie’s producers, Bruce Young — who spends most of his time teaching Shakespeare and C.S. Lewis to students at Brigham Young University.

Bruce Young. Producer, Heart of Africa 1 & 2.

I spoke to Bruce recently about his involvement in “Heart of Africa” and “Heart of Africa 2.”  We viewed the second film together at the Thanksgiving Point Megaplex. Bruce says that he and his wife Margaret, who has script credit on both films, were determined to help revive the film industry in the Congo DR, after it ground to a halt nearly five years ago during the civil unrest.

The couple teamed up with Congolese director Tshoper Kabambi, helping to find grant money, equipment, and staff behind and before the camera. Both movies were filmed entirely in the Congo DR.

“Heart of Africa 2” basically retells the story of “Heart of Africa” from the POV of Elder Jason Martin, a service missionary from The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, called to help build an orphanage in the Congo DR with his native companion Gabriel Ngandu.

This is not a Church PR film, by any means. We see the two companions struggling with demons from their past and coming to grips with cultural and racial misunderstandings and intolerance that at several junctures lead to very unChristian macho behavior. Emotions and dialogue get pretty raw in places. At one point Elder Martin calls Elder Ngandu a ‘jungle monkey.’ This is both extremely shocking — and extremely real.

As a Church missionary myself, serving in Thailand for two years, I had companions that ranged from true saints to slackers who were only there because their parents promised them a new car if they would carry on the family tradition by serving a mission. I was physically threatened by my companion on several occasions — fortunately, instead of resorting to macho responses I tended to joke my way out of those situations like Woody Allen or Bob Hope. Putting two young men together in a strange place, with a ton of rules and restraints added into the bargain, is not your average formula for immediate camaraderie. Perhaps one of the real miracles of the Church’s massive missionary program is that almost all companionships lead to lasting friendships instead of assault charges.

But even though “Heart of Africa 2” is not propaganda, it does take on the controversial and complex issue of the role of Jesus Christ in an individual’s life. The film dares to sidestep other issues like racism, colonialism, and sex, for a good fifteen minutes to focus on how the Savior’s sacrifice and atonement influenced and changed both Martin and Ngandu. This Christ-centered dialogue is breath-taking because, among other reasons, it’s not pandering to the normal popcorn-chomping movie crowd’s cravings.

It’s a bold, and, to my way of thinking, admirable, movie maker who is willing to challenge audiences with the age-old question “What think ye of Christ?” 

Movie goers will be well rewarded for taking the trouble to view “Heart of Africa 2” during it’s limited run. Bruce Young assures me the film will eventually be available to stream, but the film really benefits from the generous screen of a Megaplex; there are many exceptionally beautiful and haunting shots in the film that will stay with the viewer for a long time.

Article on the Film from Meridian Magazine

For more of the story behind the story, see the following account by co-writer of the film, Margaret Blair Young, from an article in Meridian Magazine: