“The Day God Walked Away”

THE 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi that claimed a million of lives has continued to fascinate film makers around the world. For the umpteenth time, another genocide themed film “The Day God Walked Away” premiered at the Goethe-Institut in Kacyiru on Tuesday night. What distinguishes this movie from other Genocide films is its focus on personal terror and fear. This is acting debut for Ruth Nirere (also known as Shanel).“I am glad that such movies are being shown to the public, and the fight against such tragedies will depend on us,” Alex Kambanda of Never Again Rwanda observed. “With the power of movies and literature, we can archive this year’s commemoration theme: Learning from our past to build the future.” “The Day God Walked Away” is a powerful rendition of the causes of the Genocide, thus conveying a great message to Rwandans and the rest of the world,” said Ruth Ingabire.Synopsis The film directed by Philippe Van Leeuw distills the 100 days atrocities of a young woman Jacqueline (Shanel), a Tutsi mother of two of the children, working for a Belgian family in Kigali. The family flees the tragedy stricken Rwandan community, but they cannot protect Jacqueline—they leave her to hide in the attic while looters strip the house bare. She stays there silently listening to the massacre going on in the streets.Eventually, Jacqueline escapes unseen to search for her children and takes refuge in the tall grass near a pond, hiding from the voices that boast of raping and hacking up their victims. There, Jacqueline encounters a wounded man and nurses him back to health, but as he grows stronger, her spirit undergoes a disturbing transformation.Alternately terrifying and lyrical, this psychological study of the effects of a holocaust on a young woman is a powerful departure from previous cinematic treatment of heroism and white guilt coming out of the Rwandan genocide.

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“The Day God Walked Away”