Rwanda’s cinema industry has been showing significant growth and 2022 was one to be proud of in terms of how much effort actors and directors have put to give Rwandans good films and stand out even outside the country.Below are some of the key highlights that made the year 2022: The acquisition of Zacu entertainment by Canal+ Group - July A major player in the production and distribution of content in Rwanda, Zacu Entertainment became part of Canal+ group’s continued commitment to support audiovisual production on the African continent to offer quality content that meets its subscribers’ expectations. This acquisition allowed CANAL+ Group to significantly strengthen its audiovisual activities in Rwanda by benefiting from a large content offer of more than 500 hours of new films and TV series produced per year and a catalog of 700 hours, all in Kinyarwanda.Actress Alliah becoming peace ambassador, building multi million mansion In February, actress Alliance Isimbi was appointed World Peace Ambassador by a United Nations body, known as the International Association of World Peace Advocates (IAWPA). In a previous interview with The New Times, the actress revealed that during the premiering of her new film ‘Alliah the Movie’ in Abuja, Nigeria she took the occasion to share Rwanda’s resilient journey from the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi and where the country stands now.In October she celebrated having achieved her dream mansion which reportedly cost her staggering Rwf500 million upon completion.Mashirika African Film FestivalA total of 75 films were selected for screening at this year’s festival in three main categories namely Best Feature, Best Documentary and Best Short Film in addition to a special category dubbed ‘Iziwacu’ which was designed to celebrate the work done by local filmmakers as revealed by artistic director Fabrizio Colombo, a great percentage of films selected for the festival were East African cinema, an indication that underlines the growing capacity and creativity in storytelling of this part of Africa.The festival that concludes Friday, December 2, held workshops and masterclasses by African and international and filmmakers to share experiences on their best practices in film critique and cinema business.Urusaro International Women Film FestivalThe seventh edition of Urusaro International Women Film Festival is produced by Cine Femme with the aim of celebrating women in the film industry. A total of 21 movies produced by filmmakers from 10 countries across Africa were selected and screened in Kigali at Century Cinema from October 4-11.The films selected are from filmmakers from Rwanda, Uganda, Kenya, Benin, Burkina Faso, Senegal, Togo, Cameroon, South Africa and Sudan.DISCOP cancelled at last minuteThe 26th edition of DISCOP Kigali was slated for November 29, to December 1, in Kigali. However, it got cancelled at last minute. the three-day immersion program was expected to bring together over 500 young creators varrying from broadcasters, pay-tv services, mobile and streaming platforms to web TVs, content aggregators, major production houses, and advertising agencies servicing Sub-Saharan Africa.
