Stefanie Plattner worked as an actrice in theatre and films for many years before exploring facets of storytelling as a film producer. In 2012, she opened Storming Donkey Productions. With her newly founded company, she developed and realised the feature film Hordur, directed by Ekrem Ergun. Among the accolades received, this film was awarded with the prize for the best Children’s Film by the German Film Critics Association in 2015. Stefanie initiated and enabled the multimedia project Tales of Us out of the urge to support and give a voice to people in unsung places of our planet, such as the Congo Basin, through storytelling. With Storming Donkey Productions, she aspires to keep initiating and facilitating original projects that will create platforms for new talent.

Eva Vonk is the Executive Producer and Creative Director for Tales of Us. After having interned and worked at several major ad agencies in Amsterdam, including the BBDO Group, Eva studied at the Dutch Film Academy in Amsterdam and produced several music videos, commercials and short films in The Netherlands. She developed the concept for Congo Tales in 2013, and subsequently spent 3 years working closely with the people in the Mbomo District of the Congo Basin to curate and record their mythologies for the very first time. Eva also produced the award winning short film The Little Fish and the Crocodile, based on the Congolese myth of the same name.

Steve-Régis “Kovo” N’Sondé was born in the Parisian suburb. Le Mee-sur-Seine. He is an afropean performer and musician and has a doctorate in philosophy from Pantheon-Sorbonne University Associate. Kovo N’Sondé lives between Paris and Berlin and has been an active researcher at CIRECK (International Center for Research & Education on Koongo Civilization), Brazzaville. He has written on art and music for numerous publications, including Afrikadaa and Presence Africaine.

Pieter Henket developed his photographic art as a self-thought artist. He moved from The Netherlands to New York in 1998 where he quickly became a successful portraitist of well-known cultural and artistic icons. In 2010, his work was included in the American Womanexhibition at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York.

Bosco Ekany is a man of all trades. His company, Business Services, often functions as a bridge between the local communities and the key institutions active in the Odzala-Kokoua National Park area such as the Sabine Plattner African Charities (SPAC), The African Parks Network and the Congo Conservation Company (CCC) for whom he also provides advice and several structural services. To those in the Odzala region, he is a community activist who addresses the many challenges shared by neighbouring villages while attempting to foster connections.

Annie and Mouendet are partners in life and in work. In Mbomo, together with a small team, they take care of the Odzala FM radio station where Annie is the current director. As journalists, they disseminate Congolese news as well as report on the importance of conservation, health issues, and local culture throughout the area of the Odzala-Kokoua National Park. To gather their stories, they travel to nearby villages on motorcycle and also form a central point in Mbomo where the local community can share stories with them. They have developed a program for children entitled Madam Spiderwhere they tell local fairytales and myths on the radio.

Vulgain Imboda is an educator in the SPAC school ‘Sanza Mobimba’. There she teaches kids in elementary school and creates extra curricular activities based on her knowledge of storytelling, creative practices and her unique approach to children.

David Kamp is a composer and sound designer, he invents and designs new sounds with an array of digital and analog materials and tools. For Congo Tales he journeyed to the Congo Basin for a week and recorded over 100 hours of multichannel audio in the rainforest, the savannah and a handful of small villages. He used this rich material to create an immersive sonic experience embracing the Congo Basin in all of its detail. Accompanying the stunning visuals of this exhibition, this auditory journey will transport you into the heart of the forrest, and introduce you to the sonic orchestra of one of the most bio-diverse places on earth.

Tainá Moreno is a creative producer with a background in Film. After completing her studies at the Dutch Film Academy in Amsterdam, she moved to Berlin and started the multi-purpose project space; Agora Collective. Agora developed into two building over the course of 6 years and became a center for contemporary practices, focusing on social art practice, food and sustainable entrepreneurship. After Agora, Tainá started freelancing and supporting Tales of Usas well as working closely with performance artist Isabel Lewisa.o.

Aichatou is an educator at the SPAC school ‘Sanza Mobimba’ where besides teaching kids, she manages and oversees the team of educators. She trains new teachers to be and oversees the SPAC satellite schools in the more remote villages of the region.

Deborah Rodriguez works as an illustrator, animates and sometimes codes. In 2015 she started to teach and fell in love with it.

After working at Disney Club Penguin, she founded a game studio in Paris. Then, after participating in collective exhibitions, she had her first solo show in Berlin, inspired by her journey in character design with the Pictoplasma Academy. She has been working on Congo Tales developing the methodologies and workshops that would become the foundation for the working process of Congo Tales.

As a teacher, she founded Gluck Workshops, where she empowers children creatively, through explorations in Art and Technology. As a new media artist, she creates interactive installations, animations and experiences where adults can live memories of childhood and kids can explore new ways of expressions and feelings.

Roger Inniss is a casting and Production Director and operates with Boom Productions, Inc. He is a close collaborator of Pieter Henket’s work and is involved in most of his projects.

Roger is currently a Casting and Production Director that shares most of his time between New York and Amsterdam for editorial and advertising shoots, fashion shows, print production, and special projects.

Shaleah Dawnyel is an artist turned business development curator. She helps creatives navigate the confusing waters of small business growth so they can make better decisions and stay true to their core values. In her work she provides guidance, accountability metrics  encouragement to help projects reach their goals.

Steve is a teacher at the SPAC school ‘Sanza Mombima’ he has a degree in African history and has a special bond with the children. He has supported the project with his enthusiastic participation and the many stories he was able to bring from the classroom to the book.

Saïd Abitar is an art director and teaches at  La Cambra Art academy in Brussel. He works on several films, theater productions and operas.

Wilfried N’Sondé was born in Brazzaville. He is a writer and musician. Wilfried N’Sondé grew up in Ile-de-France where he studied political science before moving to Berlin. His first novel, the double-award-winning Le Coeur des enfants leopards (2007), along with his subsequent novels, are published by ACTES SUD.

Theophane Bokaka is an active member of the Mbomo community. He has been involved as a social worker and is now working within the administration of the SPAC schools. He is trained in Journalism and has a vast knowledge of the mythological heritage of the region.

Auguste Miabeto is a specialist on Sub-Saharan African oral literatures and traditions. He is director of C.I.R.E.C.K. (Centre Internacional de Recherche-Education sur la Civililisation Koongo – International center for Research-Education of the Kongo civilisation) in Brazzaville, Republic of Congo.