GOAL

I met Ugo Kasuku, the main protagonist of the film, in Goma, where I was living with my wife at the time. I spent five years there, long enough to put down roots, to understand the rhythm, the tensions, and the strength of the city. Ugo had heard that I was a filmmaker and wanted to tell me about his football academy. At that moment, I was finishing a film about artisanal coltan miners and developing several fiction projects. I had absolutely no intention of starting a new documentary.

But Ugo’s persistence eventually led me, one morning in 2019, to the training ground of his academy. What I discovered there struck me deeply. It felt like an almost unreal bubble, on the margins of the chaos of Goma and eastern Congo. Ugo and his coaches were giving everything—their energy, their time, their faith—to nurture the dream of talented young players, many of whom had no access to school, and sometimes not even enough food.

The challenges were immense. And the more time I spent with them, the more it became clear: this story deserved a feature-length film. Having seen, like so many journalists and filmmakers before me, cameras repeatedly turn toward the same narratives, war, child soldiers, violence, minerals, I felt an urgency to offer a different perspective. A luminous film about eastern Congo, one that does not look away from reality, but also refuses miserabilism.

It was also during that time that my first son was born in Goma. That birth sealed my desire to tell a story of hope, a story oriented toward the future. Over the years, Ugo became much more than the central character of this film, he became a friend.

Ugo Kasuku is a Congolese sports executive, social entrepreneur, and founder of GOAL (Goma Academy of Leaders), a football academy based in Goma, in the eastern part of the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

Former football player who played in Belgium and Italy, he chose to put his experience to work for Congolese youth. Convinced that football is a powerful driver of social change, he founded GOAL with a clear mission: to develop responsible citizens as well as talented players.

Under his leadership, the academy supports hundreds of young people through an approach that combines athletic excellence, education, discipline, leadership, and human values. His commitment extends beyond the soccer field; he works to provide young people with an environment where they can develop their potential, learn to live together, and become a driving force for peace and development.

In addition to his work at GOAL, Kasuku Ugo is involved in developing sports infrastructure in Goma and is dedicated to several projects related to entrepreneurship, agriculture, and innovation—always with the goal of creating sustainable opportunities for his community.

Deeply committed to the values of integrity, responsibility, and service, he champions the vision that investing in youth is the best response to the challenges facing the Great Lakes region.

His motto could be summed up as follows: “Talent opens doors, but it is values, education, and character that enable us to walk through them for the long term.”

Mathieu Roy is a father of four and filmmaker living between the Kenyan coast and his hometown Montreal after spending five years in Goma, in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo. Over the past decades, he has traveled the world and collaborated with renowned artists, including Martin Scorsese. His most recent documentary, The Diggers, offers an immersive look into the harsh realities of artisanal mining in Eastern DRC. Roy’s earlier works, including Surviving Progress, The Dispossessed, and Dispossession, critically examine the ideology of progress and the global impoverishment of rural communities. In 2026 he will launch his new documentary Marquer le Congo on a youth football academy in Goma, and developing two new projects: Still Surviving Progress and White Love.

FILMOGRAPHY

• The Diggers / Feature / 2021

• The Dispossessed / Feature / 2017

• Dispossession/ Feature / 2018

• Michel Roy, Journalist / Feature / 2017

• Another House / Feature / 2013

• Surviving Progress / Feature / 2011

• Ecclestone’s Formula / Feature / 2011

• Death in Venice: A Musical Journey with Louis Lortie / Feature / 2009

• Quebec – Territories/ Video clips / 2007

• Contact – The Encyclopedia of Creation / TV Series / 2007

• The Leopard’s Skin / Documentary for television / 2006

• François Girard in Three Acts / Feature / 2005 

NOMINATIONS & AWARDS

• Prix Iris Nomination for Best Cinematography in a Documentary / Gala Québec Cinéma / 2018 - The Dispossessed

• Golden Gateway Nomination / Mumbai International Film Festival / 2013 - Another House

• Nomination Grand Prix des Amériques / Montreal World Film Festival / 2013 - Another House

• Audience Price/ Dieppe Canadian Film Festival / 2013 - Another House

• Students Price / Dieppe Canadian Film Festival / 2013 - Another House

• Audience Award ARTV / 2009 - Death in Venice: A Musical Journey with Louis Lortie

• Gémeau Award for Best Documentary - Culture / 2005 - François Girard in Three Acts

• Selection Toronto International Film Festival / 2011 - Surviving Process

• Selection IDFA / 2011 - Surviving Process 

Bahija has more than 10 years of experience as a film producer. Her films have been selected in festivals such as SXSW, Cinequest, El Gouna, Trouville-sur-Mer, and more. She is also a co-founder of the N.A.W.A.L. Association.

Before becoming a producer, Samuel worked as a film distributor for 8 years in Quebec. He distributed films by directors such as Wong Kar-Wai (Happy Together, Chungking Express, and Fallen Angels), Elia Suleiman (Chronicle of a Disappearance), and Shohei Imamura (The Eel), to name a few. Samuel is also one of the co-founders of the N.A.W.A.L. Association.