Empire of Dust

Bram Van Paesschen Belgiл 2011 77 min.

An eye-opening and at times hilarious film about the human side of the Chinese invasion of Africa, so rich in minerals. Lao Yang of the Chinese Railway Engineering Company is in charge of building a 300 kilometer route between Kolwezi and Lubumbashi, a crucial link in the exploitation of mines. Eddy, a Congolese man fluent in Mandarin, assists him in his contact with the local population. But the language barrier is not the main problem. Cultural differences are what make the cooperation very challenging indeed.