Film on women’s heroism during Genocide nominated for UK award
Sunday, February 19, 2023
Cover photo of ‘Bazigaga’, a short film that tells the story of Rwandan women who saved lives during the 1994 Genocide against Tutsi. Courtesy photos

‘Bazigaga’, a short film that tells the story of Rwandan women who saved lives during the 1994 Genocide against Tutsi was nominated for a British Academy of Film and Television Arts award (Bafta) that will be announced tonight, February 19.

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Written and directed by Jo Ingabire Moys, a survivor of the Genocide herself, the film was inspired by Zura Karuhimbi, a Hutu elderly woman who saved 100 Tutsi by telling the killers she had supernatural powers.

Moys told different media that the film was also inspired by a then 14 year-old Hutu neighbour, Arifa, who came to their house after a shooting spree to see if anyone was alive.

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She would later sneak supplies for them until they escaped from the city, and she helped them bury their dead.

Bazigaga also stars renown Rwandan actors and actresses like Eliane Umuhire, Ery Nzaramba, Roger Noel Ineza, and Maely Mahavande.

The film was nominated in the short film category, alongside The Ballad of Olive Morris, Bus Girl, An Irish Goodbye, and A Drifting Up.

The film was written and directed by Jo Ingabire Moys