Rwandan, Hollywood producers to make film on liberation struggle

RENOWNED producers from Rwanda’s Hillywood and Hollywood have teamed up to produce a flim about the 1990-1994 Rwanda Patriotic Front/Army liberation struggle, The New Times has learned. Hillywood is the local cinema industry while Hollywood is the renowned American film hub.The film entitled, “Before and After”, tells the chronology of events that characterised the struggle by the former RPF/A rebels to liberate the country from decades of misrule.The liberation war ended with the RPA soldiers stopping the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi.Speaking to The New Times yesterday, Eric Kabera, the head of Hillywood, said, “It will be an important film because it will tell the story of the Genocide against the Tutsi through the eyes of the patriotic men and women who fought to defeat it. The message of the film focuses on the struggle to liberate Rwanda and make this country what it is today.”“The production of the movie is timely; it is extremely important that this story be told to our children and the future generations,” Kabera said.He said Rwanda’s story is full of heroism, which is often portrayed in western movies.Kabera, founder of Kwetu Film Institute, said he and the other producers had spent the last two years preparing for the first feature film on the country’s liberation struggle.“We plan to finalise with scripting the movie by mid next year while pre-production is slated for mid September. However, production will be sometime later next year after we secured all the necessary financing,” explained the Rwandan movie director.Kabera noted that the film will be an expensive project that needs mostly Rwandan investment rather than international finances which would otherwise dictate the tone of production.Adam Leipzig, an American film and theatre producer, film executive and writer, is one of the proposed film producers alongside Kabera. “We are very fortunate to have Adam Leipzig as one of the producers of this film; he has vast experience in producing independent films. Until recently, Adam was the president of National Geographic Films in Los Angeles, US,” he added.“I am humbled and also intimidated by such a huge responsibility of trying to present on screen our men and women who paid the ultimate price to give us a country which we have today,” he said. He stated that Hollywood join hands with Hillywood to make sure that the movie tells the true story of the 1994 liberation struggle. According to Kwetu Film Institute Founder, the film will be the first indigenous African war movie – told by Rwandans and featuring Rwandans. “We truly want to honour to our heroes. This is a dedication to our generation and children who would live to celebrate the lives of those who sacrificed their lives to liberate Rwanda,” he said.