The Rwanda Film Festival has not only established itself as the country’s most important cultural
event but also as one of Africa’s most prestigious festivals. The tradition continues this year with
the tenth edition of RFF. For seven days, film lovers, filmmakers, industry professionals and
media will watch the best in new cinema from established masters and new local and
international talents.
The dates for this year’s festival are July 12th to 18th. As usual, the festival will consist of a Kigali
portion and a traveling portion, known as Hillywood. This year’s Hillywood locations so far include
Rwamagana, Musanze, Huye, and Rubavu. Our theme for this year is “Reflection.” Focusing on
“Reflection,” the Rwanda Film Festival has put together a selection of films that look at historical
and contemporary issues from around the world with focus on Africa and a unique retrospective
on Rwanda. The films in the program represent a variety of cinematic styles and cultural
contexts, but all are relevant for Rwandans today. This year, we will be bringing back the
Silverback Awards. More information about this will be released in the upcoming days.
We will be screening over 70 films in various locations for our tenth edition. These films will
divided among three sections in the programming: “Retrospective on Rwanda,” “Reflection on
World Cultures,” and “Reflection on Young People on the Move.”
The “Retrospective on Rwanda” will be an expansion of RFF’s regular “Genocide Memorial
Extension Program,” which was established in the festival’s first edition. Since 2014 marks
twenty years since the genocide against the Tutsis, a reflection on how the past continues to
affect us today is essential to this year’s theme. Screenings for this portion of the festival will be
held at the Kigali Genocide Memorial in Gisozi.
For our second section of programming, “Reflection on World Cultures,” we are pleased to
announce partnerships with various other countries. RFF will collaborate extensively with the
Chinese embassy to bring a collection of classical and contemporary Chinese films to Rwanda.
Most notably, we will be screening Wong Karwai’s latest film The Grandmaster, which was the
opening selection for the 2013 edition of the Berlinale. We will also feature special selections
from European countries, including Switzerland, Sweden, and Belgium. The screenings are
possible thanks to our partnerships with the International Short Film Festival Winterthur, the
Swedish Film Institute, and the Afrika Film Festival Leuven. We will also collaborate with the
GoetheInstitut and with Médiathèque Française through the French Institute in Kigali to bring
additional European films to this edition of the festival.
Our opening night selection is Eric Kabera’s film "Intore" (2014). Intore is a nonfiction film that tells
the story of the 1994 genocide against the Tutsis and Rwanda’s recovery from tragedy. Through
Rwandan music, dance, and candid interviews, Kabera weaves a narrative of a remarkable
triumph. The film features interviews with Rwanda’s best dancers and musicians, including
singer Cornelius Nyungura, known by his stage name Corneille, who has not returned to the
country since the genocide.
Our closing night selection is "Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom" (2013), directed by Justin
Chadwick. The film features an incredible performance from Idris Elba as Mandela. The film will
screen on the last day of the festival, July 18th, which is also Mandela’s birthday.
Like last year, the festival will have three main locations in the city of Kigali and about four
locations in the countryside. The location in Kigali are: The Century Cinema (KCT) 12th to 18th
of July, Club Rafiki (Nyamirambo) and The Office (In Kiyovu) from 13th to 17th of July.
Please visit our website, www.rwandafilmfestival.net, for the complete list of our film selections
for this year.
