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The Importance of Being Elegant (2004) [N/A]

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Release Date:
August 14, 2004

Original Title:
The Importance of Being Elegant

Alternate Titles:
The Sapeurs

Genres:
Documentary

Production Companies:
Dominant 7
October Films

Production Countries:
United Kingdom

Ratings / Certifications:
GB: PG 

Runtime: 70

Overview from TheMovieDB

Set to the soundtrack of Papa Wemba's extraordinary music, this outrageous, funny and eye-opening film depicts the underground world of a flamboyant African cult. Papa Wemba is a well-known Congolese singer. He is also a big cheese in Le Sape, the Société des Ambianceurs et Persons Élégants, which translated into English means a society of people who spend huge amounts of money on designer clothes with the motive of making themselves as conspicuously elegant as possible. The film is a splendid evocation of Papa Wemba's music, but it is also an unusual insight into what it means to be an immigrant in contemporary Europe. The sapeur have borrowed from our own culture, creating something rich and strange and wholly Congolese. Don't miss the scene where they try on fur coats.

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Performers

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Production

Cinematography:
Éric Turpin

Director:
Cosima Spender
George Amponsah

Editor:
Valerio Bonelli

Executive Producer:
Laurent Bocahut
Tom Roberts

Line Producer:
Askia Traoré

Producer:
George Amponsah

Supervising Sound Editor:
Philippe Ciompi

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