Ben'Imana

This powerful drama is set 18 years after the genocide in Rwanda and follows the Gacaca courts, where perpetrators meet survivors as part of a national process of reconciliation. Vénéranda is one of the survivors, a passionate advocate who insists that reconciliation is possible. Her conviction is put to the test, however, when her daughter becomes pregnant and she discovers who the father of her grandchild is.

Several major international productions have dealt with the genocide in Rwanda, many of them in a sensationalist way. Stories told by Rwandan filmmakers have a different character, but that does not make them any less powerful. To make this film about a traumatised community in the small town of Kibeho, director Marie Clémentine Dusabejambo conducted extensive interviews with survivors of the genocide against the Tutsi. Rather than showing the killings, Dusabejambo highlights the tension between forgiveness and the desire for revenge. The result is a perceptive and moving film that shows how working through trauma is hard work that must be done again every day. BEN’IMANA is the first Rwandan film to have been shown at Cannes, where it won both the Caméra d’Or for best debut film and the FIPRESCI Prize.

Running time: 1 hour 41 minutes. Age rating: 15. 2D, SW, English subtitles, Film fra Sør, unreserved seating, English subtitles. Room 1.