Sammy Baloji

Sammy Baloji

Biography

Sammy Baloji lives and works between Lubumbashi and Brussels. Since 2005, he has been exploring the memory and history of the Democratic Republic of Congo. After his studies in literature and human sciences, he began to work as a cartoonist and later specialised in video art and photography. His work is an ongoing investigation into the cultural, architectural and industrial heritage of the Katanga region, as well as questioning the impact of Belgian colonisation. His critical view of contemporary societies serves as a warning against the ways in which cultural clichés continue to shape collective memory, allowing social and political power games to continue to dictate human behaviour. His feature film L’ARBRE DE L’AUTHENTICITÉ won the Special Jury Prize at the 2025 International Film Festival Rotterdam.

Filmography

L'ARBRE DE L’AUTHENTICITÉ (THE TREE OF AUTHENTICITY) (2025): Direction