Rwandan actress Eliane Umuhire has done it again at the global stage after walking home with the prize for best actress in the short film ‘Bazigaga’ at the Clermont-Ferrand International Short Film Festival held in France.

‘Bazigaga’ is a short film directed by Jo Ingabire Moys, a Rwandan writer and director of the Oscar-qualifying short film ‘Bazigaga’. As a survivor of the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi, when Ingabire returned to Rwanda from the United Kingdom she visited the genocide memorial and came across a story of a woman who saved the Tutsi during the Genocide.

During an interview with The Hollywood Times, Ingabire noted that the film talks about a woman, Zura Karuhimbi, who saved people by pretending to be a witch doctor. She was a traditional healer and when the Genocide against the Tutsi started she convinced killers that she could curse them if they came to her house which is how she hid many Tutsi in her house.

'Bazigaga' was partly inspired by Karuhimbi to honor her and partly inspired by Ingabire’s own story. Umuhire plays as Bazigaga whose role won her the best actress award. A part from Eliane Umuhire, the film features other actors including Ery Nzaramba, Roger Ineza and Aboudou Issam.

Umuhire is an award winning actress born and raised in Rwanda. She started acting in 2005 when she was in Butare pursuing her university studies. She however started acting in films in 2014 when she was casted in 'Birds are Singing in Kigali' as her first main role and main character.

The actress, who was artistically raised by Mashirika with Hope Azeda and Ishyo arts with Carole Karemera, has won multiple awards over the years including Best Actress Award at the 52nd edition of the Karlovy Vary International Film Festival and The Urania award for the Best Performance in leading role among many others. She stars in ‘Trees Of Peace’, a movie that tells the story of four women that created a strong bond in the hiding place they were trapped in during the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi.