Thirty three-old Eliane Umuhire, is a co-lead actress in Alanna Brown’s ‘Trees of Peace’ movie that talks about the 1994 Genocide against Tutsi in Rwanda. ‘Trees of Peace’ is a story about four survivors of 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi, that tells of the struggle the women, who find unity, hope, and strength after they survive the Genocide. She shared with The New Times the feeling of having a leading role in the film. “Being part of top actors was an unforgettable experience, a dream role as an actor, and I can’t wait to share it with the world.” Umuhire has been acting since 2004. She was then an Accounting student at the former National University of Rwanda, now (University of Rwanda Huye Campus), where she was part of “les stars du theatre” the university troupe and “Voilà”, a troupe from her church in the NUR campus. When she graduated, she decided she didn’t want to be an accountant. “I knew I didn’t want to be an accountant. I joined Mashirika Performing Arts and Ishyo Arts Centre and started performing with them.” Umuhire decided to start her career in acting, not only because she was told by her high school fellow students that he was good. “As I was growing up, I realized how much art has an impact on our society; we become the voice of the voiceless, we hold the hand of that widow who finds herself alone home, we entertain people and help them for a moment, to forget their worries and we allow children to dream.” She had been having a day job to manage her expenses, but latter decided to solely depend on her acting in 2015, and since then, Umuhire has acted in different films; Birds Are Singing in Kigali, and Things of the Aimless Wanderer, among others. She explains that she enjoys working with amazing people, especially on the cast for Trees of Peace, and that her experience raged from discovering Hollywood to working with a bunch of incredible human beings who are driven by the story. editor@newtimesrwanda.com
