Don't miss the release of "Benda Bilili!" in the United States

Rotary International is working with Staff Benda Bilili and National Geographic Entertainment to raise awareness of the polio eradication effort through the release of the documentary "Benda Bilili!" in U.S. theaters in October.

View a trailer of the film. Learn more about the band, and find out when the film is opening in your area.  

Staff Benda Bilili, which means “look beyond appearances” in Lingala, is a band of eight former street musicians from Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of the Congo. Five are polio survivors. Their song “Polio” speaks of the disease that changed their lives and urges parents to immunize their children.

The band's debut album, Très Très Fort, won the 2009 Womex Award for international music. French filmmakers Florent de la Tullaye and Renaud Barrett decided to create a documentary about the band after hearing its music when they were in Kinshasa in 2004, working on a movie about the city's music scene. The documentary premiered during the 2010 Cannes Film Festival and was nominated in the best documentary category for the 2011 César Awards.

The band is also part of Rotary's "This Close" campaign, which focuses on the need to finish the job of polio eradication.