Focus: Rwandan movies premiere in Belgium

Someone once said: “everything changes, but beauty remains.” Some people wait a lifetime for a moment like this -- a shining moment and red carpet rolling. Just like its economic, social and political fields, Rwanda’s film industry is a force to reckon with. Next month, two Rwandan filmmakers will be premiering their movies in Brussels - the capital city of Belgium. Eric Kabera and Gilbert Ndahayo are expected to premiere and present their recent feature films in Belgium at the beginning of April during the 16th Afrika Film Festival Leuven. The two young Rwandan filmmakers will be showcasing their movies alongside Hollywood blockbusters such as Clint Eastwood’s Invictus and Raoul Peck’s Moloch Tropical. Eric Kabera is the producer of “Africa United” (88 minutes). His film that will also have the honor of opening the film festival next Friday March 25th at Kinepolis, Leuven is an extraordinary tale of three Rwandan children and their bid to achieve their lifelong dream of taking part in the opening ceremony of the 2010 Football World Cup in Johannesburg. Through their 3000 mile journey, we encounter an Africa few people have ever seen; experience an epic adventure through seven countries; and feel the joy, laughter and hope that comes from making an incredible journey together. ‘Africa United’ is a dramatic, heartfelt and enchanting story set to thrill audiences worldwide. “Africa united” is a UK/Rwanda co-production fiction and directed by Debs Gardner-Paterson (UK). The film has received acclaims in Rwanda, UK, US and now hitting Europe. Eric Kabera is the founder/CEO of Rwanda Cinema Center, a hub for the burgeoning local film industry. He’s also the producer of “100 days” another hit about the 1994 genocide against Tutsis. The other director, Gilbert Ndahayo is the producer/writer/director of “Rwanda: Beyond The Deadly Pit” (100 minutes), an autobiographical documentary about the last days of life of the filmmaker’s parents and two hundred people who sought refuge at a convent in Kicukiro during the 1994 genocide against the Tutsi. At his best, Ndahayo -- who is an auteur director – penetrates brilliantly into the genocide interweaving his story by an account of perpetrators who murdered his parents. The film receives a treat from the festival and will be shown in two venues: Leuven and Brussels. “Rwanda: Beyond The Deadly Pit” was nominated for Best Documentary at the PanAfrican Film festival last year and had its European premiere at the prestigious International Documentary Film Festival. Ndahayo received film training from Swedish filmmakers and moved on to get an intensive training at Mira Nair’s film lab. He directed Scars of My Days in 2006 and Dirty Wine in 2007. Since 2008, Ndahayo lives in the United States where he is pursuing Masters in Fine Arts (Film) at the prestigious Columbia University in New York. His upcoming film “Voices Of God and Other Stories” is a fiction film about the role of religion and modernization in Africa. Ends