The Tribeca Film Festival ended last weekend. I didn’t get to see any films. (Late April, early May is a busy time where I teach). Anyway, a quick glance at the 2011 schedule shows only four films with African themes. Two “from South Africa,” one from Egypt (made by Americans and Europeans) and one film by a Rwandan. It is the latter film, “Grey Matter,” by Kivu Ruhorahoza that I really want to see.  It has been summarized as both a film about filmmaking and a “sobering representation of the psychic scars that still haunt many Rwandans after the 1994 genocide.”

On IMDB, the plot is described thus: “… Balthazar is a young African filmmaker on the brink of directing his first project, The Cycle of the Cockroach, a fictional story about a young woman who survived unspeakable atrocities only to find herself committed to the same mental institution as a man driven insane by the crimes he perpetrated during the war. Potential funders for the film insist the themes are too bleak and pessimistic-they encourage Balthazar to make a ‘message’ film that raises awareness about gender-based violence or HIV/AIDS instead. But he refuses to give up. Instead of telling his production team the news, Balthazar continues preparations for the film without financing or equipment. After rehearsing a scene with each of the characters, reality blurs and scenes from the script materialize, provoking the question: Can a film like this exist only in the director’s dreams? Armed with a daring and creative visual language, writer/director Kivu Ruhorahoza boldly grasps at the illusory trick of representation in the wake of trauma and its ensuing madness. Paralleling the protagonist in his film, Ruhorahoza’s debut marks the very first feature-length narrative film directed by a Rwandan filmmaker living in his homeland.”

Tribeca hyped it as “… the first feature-length narrative film directed by a Rwandan filmmaker living in his homeland,” though Australia also gets credit for the film.  If you’re wondering if he sounds familiar, he used to go by Daddy Ruhorahoza. We’ve featured him here before. In this video, Kivu talks about the film.  Different sources say the film and Ruhorahosa as a director is the real deal.  For example, right after seeing it, the journalist Alexis Okeowo tweeted that “Grey matter” was “… incredible, beautifully written, acted, and directed. best film i’ve seen this year.”

Last week the film won two awards for the festival: Best Actor in a Narrative Feature Film (for the lead Ramadhan “Shami” Bizimana) and a Special Jury Mention for Ruhorahoza. The jury wrote of Ruhorahoza’s direction: “… For its audacious and experimental approach, this film speaks of recent horrors and genocide with great originality. We wanted to give a special commendation to this filmmaker for his courage and vision.”