MORE than a million people lost their lives during the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi, the fastest genocide in recorded history. Horrific massacres and other ghastly crimes such as rape and torture were the order of the day. As the country starts the 28th commemoration of the Genocide against the Tutsi, we share some films that depict what happened in the country’s darkest period. 1. 100 Days 100 Days is a 2001 drama film directed by Nick Hughes and produced by Hughes and Eric Kabera. The film is a dramatisation of events that happened during the Genocide against the Tutsi in 1994. The title of the film is a direct reference to the length of time that passed from the beginning of the Genocide. It was the first feature film made about the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi and focuses on the life of a young, refugee Tutsi girl and her attempts to find safety while the Genocide is taking place. It was shot at locations where the Genocide actually occurred. 2. The 600 The 600 is a movie which tells in detailed account, the events in Kigali during the 100 days of the Genocide against the Tutsi and the role of 600 Rwanda Patriotic Army (RPA) soldiers who were stationed in Kigali, in stopping the massacres. The movie gives a first-hand account by RPA soldiers that were among the battalion of 600 troops that came to Kigali to make peace, only for events to take a different turn, when killings started. It also documents several specific stories that were documented and corroborated by both the soldiers and the people that they rescued, the role of some Rwandan artistes, as well as Radio Muhabura, created by the RPF during the liberation struggle 1990 and 1994. 3. The Day God Walked Away Like many would perceive, the title of the movie is self-explanatory. The story depicts the agony of a young woman set in Rwanda in the spring of 1994, at the burst of the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi. In the movie, Jacqueline, a young Tutsi woman, is a maid in a Belgian family. When she finds her children brutally murdered, she runs away and hides in the woods where she meets a male stranger who was also escaping from the slaughter. Together, they strive to survive with the fear of being discovered at any moment. Terror awaited them at every corner. 4. Shake Hands With The Devil ‘Shake Hands with the Devil’ is based on the book by Roméo Dallaire, the former Canadian General who was in command of U.N. forces in Rwanda at the time that the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi happened. In this movie, director Roger Spottiswoode brings a very special film realisation of the acclaimed best-seller to the screen in “Shake Hands with the Devil,” the story of a Canadian commander torn between his duty and his conscience when he finds himself an eyewitness to hell on earth. A reporter (Deborah Unger) remains in-country and follows General Dellaire as he is forced to deal with far-away superiors and the studied indifference of the world’s great powers while trying to take decisive action to stop the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi that claimed millions of innocent lives. 5. Sometimes in April This is a detailed movie about the gruesome tragedy that took place during the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi. Directed by Raoul Peck, the movie features renowned actors Idris Elba and Carole Karemera who act as husband and wife of different ethnicity. It is their story of survival that makes this movie a deep one. This is a film that should be watched by everyone as it entails proper details of the tragic events of the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi. 6. Trees of Peace Trees of Peace is a movie depicting the life of four women during the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi in Rwanda. Produced by Hollywood actress Alanna Brown, the movie is inspired by actual events and follows four women from different backgrounds who forge an unbreakable bond while trapped in an underground room during the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi. 7. Shooting Dogs The movie is based on the experiences of BBC news producer David Belton, who worked in Rwanda during the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi. The setting of the film is the École Technique Officielle (ETO) in Kigali. Hurt plays a Catholic priest (loosely based on Vjekoslav Ćurić) and Dancy an English teacher, both Europeans, who are caught up in the events of the Genocide. 8. My Neighbour My Killer This movie focuses on the process of the Gacaca courts, a citizen-based justice system that was put in place after the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi. It also reflects on how people can live together after such a traumatic experience, and in the movie, we see survivors and killers learn how to coexist. 9. Munyurangabo Munyurangabo is a 2007 film directed by Lee Isaac Chung. Filmed entirely in Rwanda with local actors, it is the first narrative feature film in Kinyarwanda. After stealing a machete from a market in Kigali, Munyurangabo and his friend Sangwa leave the city to return to their village. Munyurangabo seeks justice for his parents, who were killed in the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi, while Sangwa wants to return to the home he left years ago. Although the two boys had planned to stay only a few hours, they ended up spending several days. But, because they are from two different tribes, their friendship is sorely tried. Sangwa’s parents distrust Munyurangabo, and warn their son about befriending him. 10. Kinyarwanda In the movie, a young Tutsi woman and a young Hutu man fall in love amidst chaos. A soldier struggles to foster a greater good while absent from her family; and a priest grapples with his faith in the face of unspeakable horror.
