Minimals in a Titanic World

Let off with a warning for aggression, dancer and aspiring musician Anita returns from prison to perform at her bar, where she learns about the sudden death of her boyfriend, Serge. While close friends process the shock, Anita finds solace in the company of Serge’s roommate, Shema. As she wrestles with the difficult final memories of her boyfriend, Anita must negotiate her bond with Shema while trying to break out on her own as an independent songwriter. Set in current-day Kigali, Philbert Aimé Mbabazi Sharangabo’s radiant, richly detailed feature debut trains its attention on a generation of upwardly mobile youth grappling with anxieties around love, death and self-actualization. With grace and generosity, he allows his characters to float about in a state of flux, not knowing what they want or can dare to. Despite our intimacy with her dreams and frustrations, Anita retains her essential spiritual mystery, her response to grief and bereavement never explained away. With keen attention to colours, textures, music and moods, Minimals in a Titanic World crafts an emotionally resonant portrait of friendship frayed by the weight of loss.