Born in 1988 in Liège, Belgium. Lives in Brussels, Belgium
Léonard Pongo was born in 1988 in Belgium. During his studies in social and political sciences Pongo started working on documentary projects in Europe and the Balkans. He later returned to Kosovo and is now focusing on documentary work in Europe and the Democratic Republic of Congo, his country of origin. In 2011 he produced a documentary series depicting his encounter with his family and the living conditions in the country. He also documented faith in independent churches in The Necessary Evil, a short movie released in 2013. He continues his work in Congo DR, documenting daily life in the country where he recently worked with local news channels during his residency in Lubumbashi in the winter of 2013.
His work has been exhibited in Belgium and the Netherlands, and he has been shortlisted for numerous awards (Luceo 2012, Manuel Rivera Ortiz Award for Documentary photography 2013, Liege Province Grant 2013 for the publication of A Certain Kind of Energy, Honourable Mention Fotovisura Grant 2013). His book A Certain Kind of Energy is available online and in bookshops in Belgium and
France. His short movie The Necessary Evil was shown during the Colonialisme et sociétés marchandes festival in Lausanne, Switzerland 2013 and will soon be available online