Rwandan filmmakers Emmanuel Clapton Mugisha is in Paris, France, showcasing his film ‘Identity’ at the 27th edition of the Off-courts Festival. The annual festival brings together filmmakers and audiences, providing a platform for emerging and established filmmakers to showcase their work while connecting with industry professionals. Mugisha travelled to Paris earlier this week alongside fellow filmmaker Tresor Senga, whose film I Wanna Go Back Home is also part of the festival programme. The festival opened on September 5 and runs through Friday, September 11. Both films received their debut screenings during a session held on Thursday. Identity, directed by Clapton Kibonge, who also stars in the film, follows two people from different cultural backgrounds who fall in love and decide to get married. Their relationship, however, is put to the test as family traditions and expectations force them to choose between preserving their cultural roots and following their hearts. The film was shot in France. “I can’t believe my first international movie is also my own film,” he said in an Instagram post. Kibonge also features in Senga’s I Wanna Go Back Home, a comedy that takes a lighter look at the experiences of Africans living abroad. The film explores challenges such as language barriers and the difficulties migrants encounter as they settle into and adapt to life in foreign countries. Senga is the founder of Mashariki African Film Festival which has been taking place in Kigali for over a decade now. The festival’s selection gives the two Rwandan filmmakers an opportunity to take stories rooted in African experiences to an international audience while connecting with filmmakers and other professionals from across the global film industry.
