The Tree of Authenticity (L’arbre de l’authenticité, Sammy Baloji, 2025)

Sammy Baloji’s latest film takes viewers on an immersive and experimental journey through the ruins of the Yangambi INERA (National Institute for Agronomic Research) research station, one of the largest tropical research centers in the world. Baloji weaves together the letters and journals of two scientists who worked at Yangambi between 1910 and 1950 to examine how environmental science and colonialism overlapped there in ways that continue to resonate today. Described as “a fascinating look at how extraction can take many forms, even within the context of sustainability,” The Tree of Authenticity subverts human-centered approaches to thinking about the climate crisis in a formal twist that lends the film its profound poetic sensibility and boasts a richly layered soundscape best appreciated in a theater. In French and Dutch with English subtitles. (89 mins., DCP)

This film is presented in conjunction with Sammy Baloji: When Extraction Becomes Form It Speaks in Borrowed Tongues.

"A much-needed disruption to Belgian colonial archives, which dominate historical narratives in Congo." The Film Verdict 

In the press

• Review: “The Tree of Authenticity review – talking tree explains Congo’s struggle to overcome colonial past,” Phuong Le, The Guardian
• Review: “The Tree of Authenticity,” Adham Youssef, The Film Verdict
• Review: “Hot Docs 2025: Our Review of ‘The Tree of Authenticity,’” Hillary Butler, In the Seats