Baloji is a polymath artist, filmmaker, and poet born in Lubumbashi, Democratic Republic of the Congo, and based in Belgium. His name, a Swahili word originally meaning man of science, shifted during the colonial era to sorcerer, a weight that has shaped his creative gaze: attuned to dreamlike worlds, magic realism, and the deep tensions between identity, culture, and history. He has released three gold-certified albums, including 137 Avenue Kaniama, and built a reputation as one of the most radically interdisciplinary artists working today, moving fluidly between music, film, costume design, photography, and visual art. After several acclaimed short films, including Zombies (Grand Prize at Oberhausen Short Film Festival 2019, MUBI Short Film of the Year 2020), he directed his debut feature Augure in 2023. The film premiered in the Official Selection at Cannes (Un Certain Regard), won the New Vision Award, and was selected as Belgium’s official submission for the Academy Awards. The film’s four-part soundtrack, 34 songs written from the perspectives of the characters, inspired a touring exhibition across the Fashion Museum Antwerp, MAAT Lisbon, and ICA London. In recognition of his boundary-breaking practice, Baloji has been named Chevalier des Arts et des Lettres. For commercial productions in Belgium, Baloji is represented by AMOK.
