ORGANISERS of the Rwanda International Movie Awards (RIMA) have announced the return of the awarding-gala.

The awards, which are in their eighth edition locally and the second edition since they went international in 2019, are slated for March 5, next year.

Organised by Ishusho Arts since 2011, a local organisation that focuses on cinema activities, the annual event recognises the finest films produced by Rwandan and foreign movie producers.

The awards didn’t happen in 2020 due to the covid-19 setbacks following the ban on public gatherings since the first case of coronavirus was discovered in Rwanda, in March last year.

As a result, organisers will this year welcome entries produced since 2020 to allow filmmakers to get their works made during the past two years stand a chance to be acknowledged.

Jackson Mucyo, the brains behind the awards, told The New Times that they are looking forward to celebrating filmmakers who have been outstanding despite challenges caused by the pandemic.

"Filmmakers haven’t stopped producing movies from their interesting stories even during the pandemic. Their work is worth acknowledging as a tool to motivate them to do even better,” Mucyo said in an interview.

He said that they expect more countries to participate in the awards’ eighth edition as the event continues to attract more international filmmakers.

According to Mucyo, the awards have had an impactful contribution to the film industry as filmmakers’ creativity continues to show incredible improvement.

"Thanks to the awards, the filmmakers are becoming more creative and competitive on the market. We have seen the awards helping filmmakers, especially actors and actresses, sign deals to become brand ambassadors of some companies and we want to see a much better impact of this platform on the development of this industry,” he said.

Filmmakers will start making their submissions from December 15 to January 15 before announcing the nominees in over 10 categories.

The Rwanda Movie Week is also on the agenda from February 4 till the eve of the awards giving gala on March 4, as an opportunity for filmmakers to reflect on the state of the local film industry and what the future has in store for it.

Mucyo revealed that they are looking to bring performances to the stage on the 8th edition of the awards, a more entertaining event than the previous ones.