Home Expulsion: Film captures ethnic Rwandans’ TZ eviction

His short film, Home Expulsion, is among the selected projects from Africa to participate at the Film mart Talent Campus in Durban, South Africa, in July. His project was listed in the Top 20 category out of one hundred sixty four submissions. Moses Opobo talked to budding film director Kayambi Musafiri about his latest project and more. Tell us about your film, Home Expulsion: Thank you. In 2013, government officials in Tanzania ordered the eviction of over 7000 people of Rwandan origin, claiming that they were in the country illegally. Tanzania also claimed that those people were a threat to the security of the country. Ethnic Rwandans, many of whose families had lived in Tanzania for generations, left behind family members, land, houses, livestock, and other property because of this move by the Government of Tanzania. This documentary focuses on four individuals who are victims of this mass expulsion as they adapt to their new situations as they resettle in Rwanda. What motivated the idea for the film, and who did you work with? I worked with Almond Tree Films to produce the film. I chose that particular theme because I know what it means for a person to be rendered homeless. It’s the worst form of humiliation that a human being can ever be subjected to. What are some of your achievements as a filmmaker so far? In 2010, I won a short script writing competition commissioned by Almond Tree Films and funded by Tribeca Film Institute. The following year, I attended my first short film screening at the Tribeca Film Festival in the United States, and the film was screened at different international film festivals around the world. In 2011, I worked as a production designer on the documentary, A Place for Every One, a film that was financed by the European Union and produced by a Belgian Company. In March 2013, I was selected to attend a scriptwriting workshop at the Luxor African Film festival in Egypt, and the Durban Talent Campus at the Durban International Film Festival. I have also worked with Electronic Media Network (MNET) as a sales agent in Rwanda. I have worked with several local and international NGOs in the production of short films and TV spots, including Global Communities (former CHF), Plan International Rwanda, Catholic Relief Services (CRS), and VSO. Currently, I am working on the creation of a documentary for the Rwanda Family Health Project, funded by Usaid.