“Beautifully photographed and sonically stellar . . . a fully charged ode to the power of music.”-Variety

In a dusty, bustling Kinshasa street, one man fiddles with speaker wires, another tunes a violin, and a group of mostly self-taught amateur musicians begins to play Beethoven. Following the members of the Orchestra Kinshasa-individually and as a group-as they prepare for an open-air classical concert celebrating the country's independence, the film details the creativity the musicians bring to balancing work, family, and rehearsals; dealing with ill-timed power outages; and repairing- and even making-their instruments. Kinshasa Symphony heralds the voices and spirits of those responsible for keeping alive a literal Ode to Joy in one of the most war-torn, chaotic areas of Africa, the Democratic Republic of Congo.