Gabin Kongolo: Film about dad's first Chelsea match goes on show
A Welsh actor has produced a short film documenting his father's first time going to watch his football team play live.Gabin Kongolo's father Tony has supported Chelsea since 1990 and finally got to see them play in October when they drew 1-1 against Nottingham Forest at Stamford Bridge.Dear Dad is a cinepoem and pays tribute to Mr Kongolo's father, their relationship, life in Cardiff and their Congolese heritage.The Mr Loverman star told Radio Wales Breakfast: "I've always been inspired by poetry, we come from a country full of great poets, so it's embedded in me."
London-born Kongolo moved to Cardiff with his family when he was eight.He studied at the Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama and has starred in TV series for the BBC and S4C. His parents came to Europe then the UK from the Democratic Republic of Congo and the journey plays an important part of the film. "In seven minutes I feel like I could cram everything I need to in this," Mr Kongolo said."And it's so important for me because I'm not just Welsh, I'm also Congolese and I'm also a black man. "And these are things I really wanted to embed in the story and I think me and my team did a pretty good job."
Despite being a fan for many years and watching matches with friends in Karibou Cafe in Cardiff, Tony had never made it to Stamford Bridge. "I think there's a lot of anxiety about going to stadiums," Mr Kongolo added."And also the club has a past that has dealt with a lot of racism, but they've made an effort to clear that up and initiatives like this help."They're quick to make statements when there's racism around the club. Also football matches are really expensive. "But it's amazing that he has his community here away from home."
Dear Dad was created as part of Chelsea Football Club's Blue Creator Fund, but Mr Kongolo is not a supporter himself."He upset me when I was a kid and that day Chelsea were playing Manchester United. So I said I was supporting Manchester. They won and since then that's my team."I couldn't lie, I told Chelsea I supported Manchester United and they said out of the short list of creators only one was actually a fan."Dear Dad has gone on display at the Saatchi Gallery in London, alongside a portrait of Tony, who got a sneak preview of the film before it went on show."The first thing he said to me was 'can I send it to my friends on WhatsApp?' I said 'that's all you've got from it dad?' But that's how I know he got joy from it."It's so nice to honour him in this way. As a creative it's hard to pay respect to your parents. "I got the perfect opportunity to do it through his football club."
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