Mikuba

Cobalt

Forum Expanded 2025

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.

by Petna Ndaliko Katondolo (Director) Democratic Republic of the Congo / USA 2025 Swahili, French 60' Colour World premiere | Documentary form

Crew

Director	Petna Ndaliko Katondolo
Cinematography	Petna Ndaliko Katondolo
Editing	Jobson Madibo Mwendiki
Music	Popal Isee Vosi
Sound Design	Petna Ndaliko Katondolo
Production Design	Stella Ramazani Nyota
Producers	Stella Ramazani, Maurice Carney
Executive Producers	Stella Ramazani Nyota, Maurice Carney

Produced by

Alkebu Film Production

Photos

Petna Ndaliko Katondolo

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 His multi-genre artistic works are known for their decolonial Afrofuturistic artistic style, which engages historical content to address contemporary sociopolitical and cultural issues.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.

Filmography (selection)

2004 Lamokowang; 13 min. 2007 Pandisha Bandera; 45 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