Samuel Ishimwe was reared on a diet of 1980s action thrillers and Hollywood B-movies. Growing up in the Rwandan capital of Kigali, a bucolic city of jacaranda trees and terraced hills, he dreamed of becoming a filmmaker and working with the larger-than-life stars he saw on TV: action heroes including Arnold Schwarzenegger and Jean-Claude van Damme who swaggered across the screen, guns blazing.
The 9,000-mile flight from Rwanda to Hollywood is a day’s journey, but in an impoverished African country with no formal film schools, it could seem no less daunting than a flight to the moon. Yet Ishimwe was determined. Orphaned by the 1994 genocide that claimed more than 800,000 lives, he’d watched his country rebuild from the rubble.
Despite the physical devastation and emotional trauma wrought by the genocide, “I had hope in my heart,” he says.
After finishing high school and getting his first job as a journalist,...
The 9,000-mile flight from Rwanda to Hollywood is a day’s journey, but in an impoverished African country with no formal film schools, it could seem no less daunting than a flight to the moon. Yet Ishimwe was determined. Orphaned by the 1994 genocide that claimed more than 800,000 lives, he’d watched his country rebuild from the rubble.
Despite the physical devastation and emotional trauma wrought by the genocide, “I had hope in my heart,” he says.
After finishing high school and getting his first job as a journalist,...
- 4/25/2018
- by Christopher Vourlias
- Variety Film + TV
Call for entries for a relatively young film festival (created in 2005) that continues to grow and flourish, attracting international interest. Dubbed Hillywood - because Rwanda is known as the land of a thousand hills), the festival was founded by Eric Kabera, also founder and chairperson the country's first film school, and a filmmaker in his own right. Details on this year's event, which takes place from July 12 to 27, follow: General submission information The principal objective of the Rwanda Film Festival is to promote and encourage awareness, appreciation and understanding of the art of cinema in Rwanda. Our mandate is to present the...
- 2/20/2013
- by Courtney
- ShadowAndAct
Much-deserved CNN focus on Rwandan cinema (previously dubbed Hillywood - because Rwanda is known as the land of a thousand hills). Eric Kabera, founder and chairperson of the Rwanda Film Festival, the country's first film school, and a filmmaker in his own right, is profiled in the encouraging and inspiring piece. We're probably all used to seeing the country via western lenses, and rarely, if ever, get to know the land and its people from the people themselves (although, recall my plug for a website called Voices Of Africa, which is essentially a virtual space for local citizen journalists in African countries to make their stories available...
- 8/16/2012
- by Tambay A. Obenson
- ShadowAndAct
News on the march…! Held over the weekend, in Yenegoa, Bayelsa State (Nigeria) on Saturday, March 26, 2011, the celebration announcing the winners of the 2011 African Movie Academy Awards (Amaa) – in just its 7th year.
This year’s nominations list boasted an even longer list of awards, compared to previous years, as the award ceremony continues to grow.
Viva Riva, a film I’ve touted on this website in recent days, after seeing it for the first time last week, rightfully dominated, winning 6 trophies, including Best Film, Best Director, Best Supporting Actress, Best Supporting Actor, Best Cinematography, and Best Production Design.
The rest of the story follows in the table below, lifted from the Amaa’s website Here:
Category
Nominated Films
Winners
Best Short Film Bougfen – Petra Baninla Sunjo (Cameroun)
Weakness – Wanjiru Kairu (Kenya)
No Jersey No Match – Daniel Ademinokan (Nigeria)
Duty – Mak Kusare (Nigeria)
Bomlambo – Zwelesizwe Ntuli (South Africa)
Zebu And...
This year’s nominations list boasted an even longer list of awards, compared to previous years, as the award ceremony continues to grow.
Viva Riva, a film I’ve touted on this website in recent days, after seeing it for the first time last week, rightfully dominated, winning 6 trophies, including Best Film, Best Director, Best Supporting Actress, Best Supporting Actor, Best Cinematography, and Best Production Design.
The rest of the story follows in the table below, lifted from the Amaa’s website Here:
Category
Nominated Films
Winners
Best Short Film Bougfen – Petra Baninla Sunjo (Cameroun)
Weakness – Wanjiru Kairu (Kenya)
No Jersey No Match – Daniel Ademinokan (Nigeria)
Duty – Mak Kusare (Nigeria)
Bomlambo – Zwelesizwe Ntuli (South Africa)
Zebu And...
- 3/28/2011
- by Tambay
- ShadowAndAct
In the eyes of the world, the tiny country is a tragedy. The film-maker wants to tell the new story of Rwanda
Although I was made in Taiwan, and my mother was born and spent her childhood in Rwanda, I grew up in Yorkshire and look about as European as they come. My father is Scottish, but his passion is China. He is tall and white but speaks perfect Mandarin, and would rather be in Asia than anywhere else. That is his heart and his home.
Although I visited Rwanda for the first time aged 18, I am also Rwandan – proudly eligible for their passport, thanks to my mother's birth. And no one knows more than Rwandans about how much an accident of birth can cost.
Rwanda, in the eyes of the world, is a tragedy: a tiny country that tore itself apart 15 years ago. After that first trip in 1997, I...
Although I was made in Taiwan, and my mother was born and spent her childhood in Rwanda, I grew up in Yorkshire and look about as European as they come. My father is Scottish, but his passion is China. He is tall and white but speaks perfect Mandarin, and would rather be in Asia than anywhere else. That is his heart and his home.
Although I visited Rwanda for the first time aged 18, I am also Rwandan – proudly eligible for their passport, thanks to my mother's birth. And no one knows more than Rwandans about how much an accident of birth can cost.
Rwanda, in the eyes of the world, is a tragedy: a tiny country that tore itself apart 15 years ago. After that first trip in 1997, I...
- 10/8/2010
- The Guardian - Film News
A new movie starring five young unknowns is tipped to match the success of Slumdog Millionaire
Among the recent flurry of mainstream films set in Africa there has been an inescapable common thread. Blood Diamond, The Last King of Scotland, Shooting Dogs and The Constant Gardener: all well-received, all acclaimed, and all with white protagonists heroically engaging with a dangerous and savage continent.
That pattern may be about to change. Later this month five young, unknown Africans will walk up the red carpet in London's Leicester Square to the British premiere of a film which discards the usual Hollywood stereotypes.
Africa United, dubbed "the rookies' project" by its makers, features a cast of children aged 11 to 15 who had never acted before; a writer producing his first script and a director making her first feature film. It has already been compared favourably to Slumdog Millionaire, and indeed, is being distributed by Pathe,...
Among the recent flurry of mainstream films set in Africa there has been an inescapable common thread. Blood Diamond, The Last King of Scotland, Shooting Dogs and The Constant Gardener: all well-received, all acclaimed, and all with white protagonists heroically engaging with a dangerous and savage continent.
That pattern may be about to change. Later this month five young, unknown Africans will walk up the red carpet in London's Leicester Square to the British premiere of a film which discards the usual Hollywood stereotypes.
Africa United, dubbed "the rookies' project" by its makers, features a cast of children aged 11 to 15 who had never acted before; a writer producing his first script and a director making her first feature film. It has already been compared favourably to Slumdog Millionaire, and indeed, is being distributed by Pathe,...
- 10/5/2010
- by Vanessa Thorpe, Tracy McVeigh
- The Guardian - Film News
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