Kinyarwanda

Kinyarwanda: A Life-Giving Film About Rwanda and Reconciliation
Kinyarwanda is a superbly made life-giving film about Rwanda, the 1994 genocide, inter-faith relationships, and reconciliation. I serve on the board of a non-profit that works in Rwanda and I've been to Rwanda four times in the last six years. I've seen and own DVDS of Sometimes in April, Beyond the Gates, Shake Hands with the Devil (the documentary and dramatic versions) Frontline's Ghosts of Rwanda and Hotel Rwanda. I attended the Seattle premiere of Kinyarwanda and saw it a second time during it's short run in Seattle in December 2011. I love this film. Kinyarwanda is different than the other fine films I've seen on Rwanda and the 1994 genocide. Opening in a house party in Kigali with young adults dancing, viewers are drawn first into the relationships of the principles. The genocide is pervasive, but in the background as the stories of Hutus and Tutsis, Christians and Muslims, begin to unfold for the viewer. Scenes of a Gacaca (a community based form of justice) and a Rwandan...

Powerful
I was lucky enough to see this film on the last day of the 2011 Sundance Festival. I finally had a day off from my volunteer duties and I picked the closest theater and the film that started next. Thank the gods it was Kinyarwanda. Not only was this movie a powerful film that left me speechless, but it was a film about one of the least talked about genocides in history that ended on a hopeful note. Hopeful!

I walked out of the theater unable to talk, trying not to cry. I shook the producers hand, unable to say anything to him and he just nodded in understanding.

Before that and to date I have never seen a film that left me feeling like that.

This film made my Sundance experience and if you are considering the purchase of this dvd/blue ray, do so. If you don't, you will be missing out on a profound film experience.

The most powerful movie I saw all year.
I saw Kinyarwanda at the SF film festival, and can't believe I'm the first to review this incredible film.

The movie is an incredibly powerful portrayal of several people's stories that take place and intertwine before, during, and after the 1993 Rwandan genocide.

Most of the actors are Rwandan citizens who survived the attrocities in 1993. Many of the cast members are first-time actors, and the film was shot on a shoestring budget but you would never know it: The performances and production values are terrific across the board.

At the film festival one of the producers was there to take questions. Many of the actors had seen Hotel Rwanda which was entirely produced elsewhere, and were not happy with the film. The hotel owner comes across as the compassionate hero, though in Rwanda he is known more as an opportunist who threw guests back into the genocide once they were no longer able to pay his exorbitant rates.

Do see Kinyarwanda. It...

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