Munyurangabo

Last updated

Munyurangabo
Munyurangabo FilmPoster.jpeg
Directed by Lee Isaac Chung
Written byLee Isaac Chung
Samuel Gray Anderson
Produced byLee Isaac Chung
Starring Jeff Rutagengwa
CinematographyLee Isaac Chung
Edited byLee Isaac Chung
Music byClaire Wibabara
Distributed byAlmond Tree Films
Release date
  • 24 May 2007 (2007-05-24)(Cannes Film Festival)
Running time
97 minutes
CountriesRwanda
United States
LanguageKinyarwanda

Munyurangabo is a 2007 drama film directed by Lee Isaac Chung. Filmed entirely in Rwanda with local actors, it is the first narrative feature film in the Kinyarwanda language. [1] It premiered in the Un Certain Regard section at the 2007 Cannes Film Festival on 24 May [2] and won the Grand Prize at the 2007 AFI Fest. [3] American critic Roger Ebert called it "in every frame a beautiful and powerful film — a masterpiece." [4]

Contents

Plot

After stealing a machete from a market in Kigali, Munyurangabo and his friend Sangwa leave the city to return to their villages. Munyurangabo seeks justice for his parents, who were killed in the 1994 genocide against the Tutsi in Rwanda, while Sangwa wants to return to the home he had left years ago. Although the two boys had planned to stay for only a few hours, they end up spending several days. But, because they are from two different tribes, their friendship is sorely tried. Sangwa's parents distrust Munyurangabo and warn their son that the Hutus and Tutsis are supposed to be enemies. [5]

Cast

Production

According to The New York Times , prior to the making of the film, director Lee Isaac Chung's wife Valerie, an art therapist, had traveled to Rwanda as a volunteer to work with those affected by the 1994 genocide. At her urging, Chung accompanied her to Rwanda and volunteered to teach a filmmaking class at a relief base in Kigali in the summer of 2006. Sensing an opportunity to present the contemporary reality of Rwanda, and to provide his students with practical film training, Chung arrived with a nine-page outline which he had written with the help of old friend (and the film's eventual co-producer and co-writer) Samuel Gray Anderson. Chung shot Munyurangabo over eleven days, working with a team of non-professional actors Chung found through local orphanages and his students as crew members. [6]

Critical reception

Munyurangabo has received highly positive reviews from critics. The review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes reported that 93% of critics have given the film a positive review with an average rating of 7.92/10, based on 25 reviews. [7]

Roger Ebert called Munyurangabo "in every frame a beautiful and powerful film — a masterpiece." [4] In his 2007 Cannes Film Festival review, Variety critic Robert Koehler described it as "by several light years -- the finest and truest film yet on the moral and emotional repercussions of the 15-year-old genocide that wracked Rwanda." [8] Writing in Film Comment , the late critic Robin Wood similarly described the film as a "masterpiece" and "an authentically beautiful film". [9]

Subsequent development

Lee Isaac Chung continues to mentor young Rwandan filmmakers through Almond Tree Rwanda, the outpost in Rwanda for his U.S.-based production company, Almond Tree Films. Almond Tree Rwanda has produced several acclaimed shorts that have traveled to international festivals. [10]

Awards

Official Selection

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Roméo Dallaire</span> Canadian military officer and politician (born 1946)

Roméo Antonius Dallaire is a retired Canadian politician and military officer who was a senator from Quebec from 2005 to 2014, and a lieutenant-general in the Canadian Armed Forces. He notably was the force commander of UNAMIR, the ill-fated United Nations peacekeeping force for Rwanda between 1993 and 1994, and for trying to stop the genocide that was being waged by Hutu extremists against Tutsis. Dallaire is a Senior Fellow at the Montreal Institute for Genocide and Human Rights Studies (MIGS) and co-director of the MIGS Will to Intervene Project.

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

The Rwandan genocide, also known as the genocide against the Tutsi, occurred from 7 April to 19 July 1994 during the Rwandan Civil War. Over a span of around 100 days, members of the Tutsi ethnic group, as well as some moderate Hutu and Twa, were systematically killed by Hutu militias. While the Rwandan Constitution states that over 1 million people were killed, most scholarly estimates suggest between 500,000 and 662,000 Tutsi died. The genocide was marked by extreme violence, with victims often murdered by neighbors, and widespread sexual violence, with between 250,000 and 500,000 women raped.

<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 Rwandan genocide, 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">Théoneste Bagosora</span> Rwandan military officer (1941–2021)

Théoneste Bagosora was a Rwandan military officer. He was chiefly known for his key role in the 1994 Rwandan genocide for which he was sentenced to life imprisonment by the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR). In 2011, the sentence was reduced to 35 years' imprisonment on appeal. He was due to be imprisoned until he was 89. According to René Lemarchand, Bagosora was "the chief organizer of the killings". On 25 September 2021, he died in a prison hospital in Mali, where he was being treated for heart issues.

<i>Sometimes in April</i> 2005 Rwandan film

Sometimes in April is a 2005 American made-for-television historical drama film about the 1994 Rwandan Genocide, written and directed by the Haitian filmmaker Raoul Peck. The ensemble cast includes Idris Elba, Oris Erhuero, Carole Karemera, and Debra Winger.

Léon Mugesera is a convicted genocidaire from Rwanda who took residence in Quebec, Canada. He was deported from Canada for an inflammatory anti-Tutsi speech which his critics allege was a precursor to the 1994 Rwandan genocide. In 2016, he was convicted of incitement to genocide and sentenced to life in prison.

<i>La Belle Noiseuse</i> 1991 film by Jacques Rivette

La Belle Noiseuse is a 1991 drama film directed by Jacques Rivette and starring Michel Piccoli, Jane Birkin and Emmanuelle Béart. Loosely adapted from the 1831 short story Le Chef-d'œuvre inconnu by Honoré de Balzac, and set in present-day France, it tells how a famous old artist is stimulated to come out of retirement and do one last painting of a beautiful young woman. The film won the Grand Prix at the 1991 Cannes Film Festival.

<i>Thieves Like Us</i> (film) 1974 film by Robert Altman

Thieves Like Us is a 1974 American crime film, set in the United States of the 1930s. It was directed by Robert Altman and starred Keith Carradine and Shelley Duvall. The film was based on the novel of the same name by Edward Anderson, which also supplied source material for the 1948 film They Live by Night, directed by Nicholas Ray. The Altman film sticks much closer to the book. The supporting cast includes Louise Fletcher and Tom Skerritt.

<i>Shake Hands with the Devil</i> (2007 film) 2007 Canadian film

Shake Hands with the Devil is a 2007 Canadian war drama film starring Roy Dupuis as Roméo Dallaire, which premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival in August 2007. Based on Dallaire's autobiographical book Shake Hands with the Devil: The Failure of Humanity in Rwanda, the film recounts Dallaire's harrowing personal journey during the 1994 Rwandan genocide and how the United Nations didn’t heed Dallaire's urgent pleas for further assistance to halt the massacre.

<i>A Sunday in Kigali</i> 2006 Canadian film

A Sunday in Kigali is a 2006 Canadian feature film set during the Rwandan genocide. It is directed by Robert Favreau and based on the novel A Sunday at the Pool in Kigali by Gil Courtemanche.

The "Hutu Ten Commandments" was a document published in the December 1990 edition of Kangura, an anti-Tutsi, Hutu Power Kinyarwanda-language newspaper in Kigali, Rwanda. The Hutu Ten Commandments are often cited as a prime example of anti-Tutsi propaganda that was promoted by genociders in Rwanda following the 1990 invasion by the Rwandan Patriotic Front and prior to the 1994 Rwandan genocide. The chief editor of Kangura, Hassan Ngeze, was convicted of genocide and crimes against humanity in 2003 by the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda and was sentenced to 35 years' imprisonment.

Eric Kabera is a Rwandan journalist and filmmaker and founder and president of Rwanda Cinema Center.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lee Isaac Chung</span> American film director and screenwriter (born 1978)

Lee Isaac Chung is an American filmmaker. His debut feature Munyurangabo (2007) was an official selection at the 2007 Cannes Film Festival and the first narrative feature film in the Kinyarwanda language.

<i>Birds Are Singing in Kigali</i> 2017 film

Birds Are Singing in Kigali is a 2017 Polish drama film directed by Joanna Kos-Krauze and Krzysztof Krauze. The film tells the story of a Polish ornithologist who saves a Tutsi girl from certain death. Kos-Krauze completed the film after her husband died mid-production in 2014.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Carole Karemera</span> Rwandan actress (born 1975)

Carole Umulinga Karemera is a Belgian-born Rwandan actress, saxophone player, theater director, festivals producer and culture policy expert.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jean Luc Mitana</span> Rwandan filmmaker

Jean Luc Mitana, is a Rwandan filmmaker and cinematographer. He is the founder of Inzu Films Production Company based in Rwanda. He has served as a cinematographer in various films including Behind the Word, Kai the Vendor and Strength in Fear.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Edouard Bamporiki</span> Rwandan politician and artist (born 1983)

Edouard Bamporiki is a Rwandan politician and artist. Bamporiki served in Rwandan cabinet as States Minister in charge of culture in the Ministry of Youth and Culture until 5th May 2022

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

Eliane Umuhire is a French-Rwandan actress. 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.

Kinyarwanda is a 2011 film based on the Rwandan genocide.

References

  1. ↑ Simon Kingsley (31 August 2006). "Features eligible for Teutonic coin". Variety. Retrieved 7 April 2015.
  2. ↑ "Festival de Cannes: Munyurangabo". festival-cannes.com. Retrieved 20 December 2009.
  3. ↑ Michael Jones (12 November 2007). "AFI honors 'Munyurangabo'". Variety. Retrieved 7 April 2015.
  4. 1 2 Roger Ebert (22 July 2009). "Munyurangabo". suntimes.com. Retrieved 7 April 2015.
  5. ↑ Munyurangabo , retrieved 16 July 2022
  6. ↑ Lim, Dennis (23 March 2008). "Rwanda, Speaking in Its Own Voice". The New York Times.
  7. ↑ "Munyurangabo (2009)". Rotten Tomatoes . Fandango . Retrieved 30 September 2020.
  8. ↑ Robert Koehler (26 May 2007). "Liberation Day". Variety. Retrieved 7 April 2015.
  9. ↑ "A Better Tomorrow: Munyurangabo". Film Comment. Retrieved 21 March 2014.
  10. ↑ Christopher Vourlias (4 February 2012). "U.S. shingle grows Rwanda film biz". Variety. Retrieved 21 March 2014.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.