Fifth Film Festival to be held in June

• To coincide with Kwita Izina This year’s film festival has been pushed to June in order for it to coincide with the popular annually celebrated Gorilla Naming Ceremony commonly known as Kwita Izina. This was revealed Sunday evening by the founder of the Rwanda Cinema Centre (RCC), Eric Kabera, at an event held to encourage Rwandans to take ownership of the theatre complex currently under construction. According to Kabera, the decision to push the festival forward, which normally takes place in March annually, was for it to coincide with the Kwita Izina week to allow more film makers to attend. “June is the best time for this festival since many tourists will be in Rwanda for the annual gorilla naming ceremony- Kwita Izina. I therefore call upon all interested companies to support the festival,” he said. He said that the decision to postpone the event was taken after consultations with the Ministry of Sports and Culture. “This year’s festival will be better and bigger, we will invite film makers from across the globe to witness and participate. I am also glad that many of you have taken ownership of this complex (Rwanda Cinema Centre), by committing to own chairs in the theatre,” Kabera added. The Rwanda Film Centre, is a local body whose aim is to promote the country’s film industry. At a recent event that was held at the film centre’s almost complete theatre, Rwandans were called upon to permanently own sitting space through pledging and paying for the theatre’s seats. North American Jennifer Bruneti is one of the centre’s mentors, according to her; many film producers have already shown an interest to film in Rwanda. “It is a call for me to volunteer at the centre and I hope my contribution helps towards the success of this film centre. This year, the National Geographic has agreed to film here and many other producers are also interested,” Bruneti said. The Rwanda Film Festival has so far received recognition at the Tribeca Film Festival in the United States of America and Hollywood’s philanthropy. Ends