Jo Ingabire Moys

Last updated

Jo Ingabire Moys is a Rwandan-British writer, actress and director [1] [2] [3] whose debut short film Bazigaga was nominated for a BAFTA after a successful festival tour. [4] [5] [6] [7]

Contents

Early life and education

She was born in the early 1990s, at the beginning of the Rwandan Civil War that involved the genocide of the Tutsi people by the Hutu ethnic majority in 1994. [1] She grew up in Kigali at the time when they were the only Tutsi family on the street. [8] She is the youngest of six children. [3] Her mother used to do business while her father worked for the customs office. [3] [9]

In 1997, when Moys was 8 years old, her school was attacked by militia forces of the former genocide regime who kidnaped the children of politicians. [3] The following year, Moys and her family moved to Uganda for eight years and later to the United Kingdom. [3] She attended Dulwich School in south London. This is where she found English literature and focused on books. [2] She graduated from Queen Mary University of London.

Career

She worked in various roles in film and TV before becoming a director. I am Leah, her debut play, is set to premiere at the Camden People's Theatre in the Autumn of 2024. She is the co-founder of the Ishami Foundation, a charity that fights discrimination against refugees and immigrants in African countries. [3]

Related Research Articles

The Hutu, also known as the Abahutu, are a Bantu ethnic or social group which is native to the African Great Lakes region. They mainly live in Rwanda, Burundi and the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo, where they form one of the principal ethnic groups alongside the Tutsi and the Great Lakes Twa.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Paul Kagame</span> President of Rwanda since 2000 (born 1957)

Paul Kagame is a Rwandan politician and former military officer who since 2000 has been the fourth President of Rwanda. He was previously a commander of the Rwandan Patriotic Front (RPF), a rebel armed force which invaded Rwanda in 1990. The RPF was one of the parties of the conflict during the Rwandan Civil War and the armed force which ended the Rwandan genocide. He was considered Rwanda's de facto leader when he was Vice President and Minister of Defence under President Pasteur Bizimungu from 1994 to 2000 after which the vice-presidential post was abolished.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rwandan Patriotic Front</span> Political party in Rwanda

The Rwandan Patriotic Front is the ruling political party in Rwanda.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Interahamwe</span> Paramilitary group involved in 1994 Rwandan Genocide

The Interahamwe is a Hutu paramilitary organization active in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Uganda. The Interahamwe was formed around 1990 as the youth wing of the National Republican Movement for Democracy and Development, the then-ruling party of Rwanda, and enjoyed the backing of the Hutu Power government. The Interahamwe, led by Robert Kajuga, were the main perpetrators of the Rwandan genocide, during which an estimated 500,000 to 1,000,000 Tutsi, Twa, and moderate Hutus were killed from April to July 1994, and the term "Interahamwe" was widened to mean any civilian militias or bands killing Tutsi.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rwandan genocide</span> 1994 genocide in Rwanda

The Rwandan genocide, also known as the genocide against the Tutsi, occurred between 7 April and 19 July 1994 during the Rwandan Civil War. During this period of around 100 days, members of the Tutsi minority ethnic group, as well as some moderate Hutu and Twa, were killed by armed Hutu militias. Although the Constitution of Rwanda states that more than 1 million people perished in the genocide, the actual number of fatalities is unclear, and some estimates suggest that the real number killed was likely lower. The most widely accepted scholarly estimates are around 500,000 to 800,000 Tutsi deaths.

<i>Hotel Rwanda</i> 2004 drama film

Hotel Rwanda is a 2004 docudrama film co-written and directed by Terry George. It was adapted from a screenplay by George and Keir Pearson, and stars Don Cheadle and Sophie Okonedo as hotelier Paul Rusesabagina and his wife Tatiana. Based on the genocide against the Tutsi in Rwanda, which occurred during the spring of 1994, the film documents Rusesabagina's efforts to save the lives of his family and more than 1,000 other refugees by providing them with shelter in the besieged Hôtel des Mille Collines. Hotel Rwanda explores genocide, political corruption, and the repercussions of violence.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rwandan Civil War</span> 1990–1994 armed struggle between government forces and Rwandan Patriotic Front (RPF) in Rwanda

The Rwandan Civil War was a large-scale civil war in Rwanda which was fought between the Rwandan Armed Forces, representing the country's government, and the rebel Rwandan Patriotic Front (RPF) from 1 October 1990 to 18 July 1994. The war arose from the long-running dispute between the Hutu and Tutsi groups within the Rwandan population. A 1959–1962 revolution had replaced the Tutsi monarchy with a Hutu-led republic, forcing more than 336,000 Tutsi to seek refuge in neighbouring countries. A group of these refugees in Uganda founded the RPF which, under the leadership of Fred Rwigyema and Paul Kagame, became a battle-ready army by the late 1980s.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2010 Rwandan presidential election</span> Re-election of President Paul Kagame

Presidential elections were held in Rwanda on 9 August 2010, the second since the Rwandan Civil War. Incumbent President Paul Kagame of the Rwandan Patriotic Front (RPF) was re-elected for a second seven-year term with 93% of the vote.

Jonathan Torgovnik is an Israeli photographer and photojournalist. He lives in Johannesburg, in South Africa. He spent two years in Rwanda photographing women who had been systematically raped during the Rwandan genocide in 1994, and the children born from those rapes. The photographs and the story were published in the Daily Telegraph magazine in 2007. A charity, Foundation Rwanda, was founded as a result. In 2014, Torgovnik returned to Rwanda. In 2015 he documented the lives of migrants who have moved, many of them illegally, to South Africa from other African countries such as Tanzania, Zimbabwe and Malawi.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Patrick Karegeya</span> Head of intelligence in Rwanda

Patrick Karegeya was a head of intelligence in Rwanda. He was a member of the Rwandan Patriotic Front (RPF) group that took power in Rwanda following the genocide and civil war. After becoming a critic of RPF leader Paul Kagame, he was stripped of his rank and jailed. Following a time in exile, he was assassinated in Johannesburg, South Africa on December 31, 2013.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">David Atrakchi</span> American actor

David Atrakchi is an actor best known for his role of Malcolm Manville in Transporter 3. He played Lanyon in the 2011 thriller Faces in the Crowd. He was an actor and co-producer of Frank & Lola, a 2016 noir love story written and directed by Matthew Ross. Most recently David is featured as an android in Detroit: Become Human, an adventure game blockbuster developed by Quantic Dream and published by Sony Interactive Entertainment for PlayStation 4, released worldwide on 25 May 2018.

Leah Chishugi is a Tutsi survivor of the Rwandan genocide, author and humanitarian. She is the founder of the charity Everything is a Benefit, which campaigns on behalf of the survivors of the victims of rape and other human rights abuses during the first and second civil conflicts in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tatiana Rusesabagina</span> Rwandan humanitarian

Tatiana Rusesabagina is a Rwandan who with her husband Paul Rusesabagina, survived in Hôtel des Mille Collines during the 1994 Rwandan genocide, and saved over a thousand people from being murdered. This story was used as the basis for the 2004 film Hotel Rwanda, in which Tatiana was portrayed by Sophie Okonedo, who was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress for her performance as Tatiana.

94 Terror is a 2018 Ugandan war-drama film set in the Rwandan genocide of 1994. The film premiered on 14 December 2018 at a red carpet event at Theatre Labonita in Kampala and won Best Viewers' Choice Movie Award at the 2018 Uganda Film Festival Awards in the first week after the release.

Since the end of the Rwandan Civil War, many forms of censorship have been implemented in Rwanda.

<i>In Praise of Blood</i> Non-fiction book by Judi Rever

In Praise of Blood: The Crimes of the Rwandan Patriotic Front is a 2018 non-fiction book by Canadian journalist Judi Rever and published by Random House of Canada; it has also been translated into Dutch and French. The book describes alleged war crimes by the Rwandan Patriotic Front (RPF), Rwanda's ruling political party, during its ascent to power in the 1990s.

Consolee Nishimwe is a Rwandan author, a motivational speaker, and a survivor of the 1994 Rwandan genocide.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Eliane Umuhire</span> Rwandan actress

Eliane Umuhire is a Rwandan born award winning actress based in France. Her artistic career explores themes of identity, memory and resilience. Her work has been featured in films presented at prestigious international festivals, where she has won awards for her acting and social commitment. Notably acclaimed for her role in the Polish film Birds Are Singing in Kigali by Krzystof Krauze & Joanna Kos, Eliane has been honored with Best Actress awards at festivals such as the Chicago International Film Festival, the Karlovy Vary International Film Festival, the Gdynia Polish Fiction Festival, the Polish Festival in New York, the Let's CEE Festival in Vienna, as well as the Mastercard Rising Star award at the Netia Off Camera independent film festival.

Bazigaga is a 2022 short French historical genocide film written and directed by Jo Ingabire Moys. Co-produced by Verbinski with Graham King and John B. Carls, the film stars Eliane Umuhire.

References

  1. 1 2 Hank, Rugged (2023-01-28). "Jo Ingabire Moys' BAFTA nominated BAZIGAGA draws from her own experience of surviving the Genocide in Rwanda". The Daily Brit. Retrieved 2024-02-17.
  2. 1 2 "Jo Ingabire Moys". Festival del Cinema Africano, d'Asia e America Latina. Retrieved 2024-02-17.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Moys, Jo Ingabire (2023-02-15). ""I survived genocide. Now I'm telling the story of my country"". Newsweek. Retrieved 2024-02-17.
  4. "Jo Ingabire Moys | United Agents".
  5. film, Guardian (2023-01-19). "Baftas 2023: the full list of nominations". The Guardian. ISSN   0261-3077 . Retrieved 2024-02-17.
  6. "Rwanda timeline: 100 days of genocide". the Guardian. 2014-04-07. Retrieved 2024-02-17.
  7. African, The East (2023-07-03). "Heart-wrenching genocide film premieres in Rwanda – Sqoop – Get Uganda entertainment news, celebrity gossip, videos and photos" . Retrieved 2024-02-17.
  8. "How unspeakable tragedy as a teen led Jo to a BAFTA nomination". honey.nine.com.au. 2023-02-16. Retrieved 2024-02-17.
  9. Russell, David (2021-06-01). "I am Leah". Survivors Fund. Retrieved 2024-02-17.