Of Fire and Charcoal

For every unpleasant, difficult job, there’s someone there to say “Well, somebody’s gotta do it.” Kasongo, the subject of Emmanuel Gras’s documentary Makala, is a young Congolese man who makes and sells charcoal, and transports it on his bike to a town about 30 miles away. He is, essentially, a freelancer. A salesman who makes his own product. Although …