KINYARWANDA, a feature film has reportedly among the films selected to screen in the U.S. and World Cinema Dramatic and documentary competitions for the 2011 Sundance Film Festival.

The festival runs from January 20 - 30, in Park City, Salt Lake City, Ogden and Sundance, Utah, United States.
This year, 115 feature-length films were selected, representing 28 countries by 40 first-time filmmakers, including 25 in the competition.

On the opening night, one narrative film and one documentary from the U.S and World Cinema competitions, as well as one short program will be screened.

Cleophas Kabasiita, who starred in Kinyarwanda as Francine, a Tutsi woman married to a Hutu man, told The New Times that in its category (World Cinema Dramatic Competition), Kinyarwanda is one of 14 films that were selected out of 1070 films.

The film by Alrick Brown (US) and Ishmael Ntihabose (Rwanda) is allegedly based on the accounts of the survivours of the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi and tells the story of Rwandans, who crossed the lines of hatred during the genocide, turning mosques into places of refuge for Muslims.

Kabasiita acknowledged Film Festivals as a vital part of the movie industry, as they draw thousands of film personalities, including actors, distributors, talent managers and movie fans to see what is new in the industry.

"As an actress and a Rwandan, I feel very privileged and honoured to be the one that brings part of my country’s history to this global film industry,” Kabasiita said.

"…it’s also an opportunity for to meet and share experiences with the world’s film personalities.”
Kinyarwanda film was partly funded by the European Commission.

The Sundance Film Festival is annual film festival which promotes independent storytelling to inform, inspire, and unite diverse populations around the globe.

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