'We are all Rwandans' - Short Film Blog

Order your copy of the DVD

2009-04-06T12:07:00.000-07:00

If you would like to order a copy of We Are All Rwandans on DVD (which comes as a double disk set with the DVD - french & english subtitles - and the beautiful original soundtrack on CD), please contact us. The usual price is £8 (of which £5 goes to school sponsorship and the fund to support survivors of the Nyange attack in Rwanda), plus £2 p&p.

Either contact Debs direct if you have her details or use the form at www.catsiye.com (under 'contact')

Mexican UN / Africala Festival pick up We Are All Rwandans

2009-04-06T12:00:00.000-07:00

A privilege for us - here is the beautiful limited edition DVD cover for the compilation, which will be distributed in Mexican schools - check out Africala.org also.

Bend Film Festival

2008-10-01T21:40:00.000-07:00

Next up for 'We Are All Rwandans' is Bend, Oregon, where the film is screening as part of the Bend Film Festival, which is by all accounts a lovely affair.

Debs will be at the festival for the duration (9-12 Oct) and attending both screenings, so please say hi if you happen to be too!

Non-Violence Film Festival

2008-08-21T10:52:00.000-07:00

Just a quick one to let you know We Are All Rwandans is screening at the

NON VIOLENCE INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL

on the following dates:

9pm on Sunday 14th and Tuesday 16th September
2pm on Saturday 20th September

at the Princess Cinema (14th) and Kings Street Theatre (16th & 20th) in Cambridge, Ontario, Canada.

Do pop along if you're nearby!

LA Shorts Baby

2008-07-23T06:48:00.000-07:00

Although things are slightly crazy at the moment (see the India Short Film Blog!), there's definitely enough time to say that we were accepted to LA Shorts, which is brilliant news. They haven't yet published the programme online, but our screening time is:

5.15pm on August 16th
at the LA Shorts venue -
Laemmle Sunset 5 Theaters
located at 8000 Sunset Blvd. West Hollywood, CA 90046

At the minute it's looking unlikely that any of us will be there :-(, but if you're in the area and can make it down, please do!

That's all for now - xxxx

Best World Cinema Short @ Phoenix, Jacksonville coming up - and Short Film Corner @ Cannes

2008-05-03T10:09:00.000-07:00

Just a quick one, but some great news in last week, to say we were awarded 'Best World Cinema Short' at the Phoenix Film Festival - awesome!
http://phoenixfilmfestival.org/pages/story-view.php?id=418

From May 15-21st it's the Jacksonville Film Festival, where We Are All Rwandans is listed in 3 programmes: 'the Short of It', 'Black Cinema' and 'World of Docs' - if you're in or around the area, please come down! (www.jacksonvillefilmfestival.com)

Also from May 14th-26th, the film is registered at the Short Film Corner in Cannes - a first foray into the mayhem, so will be interesting to see how that goes! (www.shortfilmcorner.com)

Debs and Ayuub also put together another tiny film (with Footprint's help and blessing!) during the March/April research trip in Rwanda. It's currently online at the Doorpost Film Project site - so if you'd like to check it out (and vote!), please do. It's a very short version of an amazing true story - filmed in a day (which rained a lot) with a fully Rwandan cast and crew apart from Debs. Miikka (who edited We Are All Rwandans) cut it in a day, and Bernie scored it in around 90 mins, so there wasn't much time for polishing. That said, check it out!
http://videos.thedoorpost.com/?film=2796a211a13b79703749f8941cfc4b56

A final note of good news - by means of exploring the partnership, Footprint produced with around half the original We Are All Rwandans London team (Debs, Miikka, Bernie - no Tim, Mairi, Sara or Sven sadly, due to geography and/or other commitments) - a ten minute short 'Home', for the 168 festival, an LA-based competition held each year in the spring. We were pleased and surprised to receive 12 nominations for this - for our actors and pretty much all the crew too - and to pick up 2 awards: best supporting actress and best director. Better than a poke in the eye for sure! If it's online at any point we'll let you know.

Hillywood & Feature Development

2008-04-01T09:26:00.000-07:00

Greetings from the Rwanda Film Festival - 1 week of rural screenings (Hillywood) and 1 week of slightly more glamorous screenings and events in the country's capital Kigali.

Director/co-writer Debs and Footprint Film producers Mark Blaney and Jackie Sheppard (with features casting director Jeremy Zimmermann) joined the Hillywood crew to see We Are All Rwandans and 5 other films in the kinyarwandan language play on an inflatable screen in 6 towns around Rwanda (pictured above in Kibuye). It was an unforgettable experience to see crowds gather in the town stadiums and the 80ft screen inflate ready for the light to fade and movies begin.

Prior to Hillywood, we were also thrilled to be able to attend a screening of the film on a similar screen in Nyange school itself - on March 18th, the anniversary of the attack 11 years ago. We were also able to attend a memorial service the next day, which was really special.

Many of the attack survivors were in attendance

Laying flowers at Chantal's graveAmazing dancersThe school drummers

The Rwanda International Film Festival then kicked off with a bang a week ago, with a dignitary-attended opening ceremony in the plush Serena hotel.

Our film was played at the top of the opening night program, and got possibly the best response I've ever seen - with a round of applause as Helene makes her last stand. It was being hailed as an important moment in Rwandan cinema, which was very exciting... especially as we now begin work on the development of a feature script - which is the main purpose of this trip.

It's a pleasure and a joy to be working again with the wonderful Ayuub (above - in work mode!)- but slightly overwhelming as we listen to people's stories to realise both how many stories there are, and how much sadness there is amongst the inspiration and hope. The task for the next couple of weeks here, and then whatever follows, will be to find a path between truth and hurt and hope - as we try and create a representation of this beautiful and inspiring country and people in film...

Saying hello again to the Nyange kids

With Mark and Jackie - all of us shattered after a long flight and driving straight to the school! (But still smiling)

Completely exquisitely beautiful... We'll keep you posted on future developments - unless we see you here first!

Honourable Mention at PAFF!

2008-02-18T16:04:00.000-08:00

Totally to our surprise we were finalists for the Best Narrative Short Film award at the Pan African Film festival (Los Angeles), and received an honourable mention at the Awards Brunch this morning - we are all dead proud! Check out the festival for an amazing diversity of programming from all over Africa and the diaspora. (Thanks also to Film London for sponsoring Debs' plane ticket to attend :-)

http://paff.org/home/press-release0218082

The screenings in College Station over the weekend were also really cool. It was really exciting to see the film used as a discussion starter tool - amazing to hear what issues were raised, and how it really gets under people's skin! The film has also been played to quite a young class of kids in a north London school to similar effect (thanks Wendy!) - it's really exciting to see these developments alongside the festival screenings.

Next stop is Hillywood - the Rwanda Film Festival - mid-March 2008. Will certainly post pictures and comments from there!

PAFF Screening Times, Phoenix Film Fest, Development Money & College Station!

2008-02-04T16:02:00.000-08:00

For any in the LA area this week, our Pan African Film Festival screening times are:

Sat 9th Feb at 6.20pm and Mon 11th Feb at 6.20pm at the

AMC Magic Johnson Crenshaw 15
4020 Marlton Avenue, Los Angeles, CA 90008

Details at: http://paff.org/home/films/we-are-all-rwandans

It would be wicked to see you there!

Phoenix Film Fest
For those Arizona-inclined early April, we just heard yesterday that we got into the Phoenix Film Festival - details to follow as we get them.

Development Money
Extremely excitingly it seems that a UK-based production company has secured first phase funding to start on development of a feature version of the Nyange story. I can't say much more than that at present - but we hope to be able to go back to Rwanda mid-March (to coincide with the short playing at the Rwanda Film Festival) to start on pre-production and research for a full length script. Crazy and very exciting!

College Station, Texas
In addition to our LA screenings this month, it looks like there will also be one in College Station, Texas sometime between Feb 14th and 17th (tbc). If you're in the area, let us know!

That's the update for now - lots of love xxx

Pan African Film Festival and Hillywood trailer

2008-01-12T07:11:00.000-08:00

It looks possible that more exciting news will follow, but for now, just a couple of bits:

1. We were selected for the Pan African Film Festival which is happening LA during February - I'll post the link once it's up - which is quite exciting, and even more brilliantly, is taking place the same week as a great friend of Debs and Bernie gets married (also in LA!), so they're able to go. We're thrilled to be in the festival, and really looking forward to seeing how the film goes down in an audience full of strangers! Debs and Bernie will be in LA from Jan 31st to mid-Feb.

2. I just received this LINK which is an online trailer for a doc being shot this year about the Hillywood rural film festival, where our film will play in Rwanda in March. It's a totally brilliant initiative, which takes an 80ft inflatable movie screen to villages around Rwanda, and plays locally made films. It's had coverage on the Beeb and all over the place - and we're thrilled to be part of it. Look out for Ayuub (our co-writer and co-producer) - who also co-ordinates Hillywood - in the trailer. He's such a dude.

3. The new website is NEARLY ready - and will have more detailed information, publicity pics, bits from the soundtrack and HOPEFULLY a trailer - I'll post here when that's up.

4. Finally - we have raised something like £700 through album sales so far, which is amazing. Thanks so much for that, and I'll try and post up details and updates of the two organisations over the next month or two if any are interested in supporting them further. (Please read the last post for more details about the organisation).

Lots of love - as mentioned at the beginning of this post, I hope there will be more exciting news to follow soon...! xxx

Get Involved

2007-11-22T04:46:00.000-08:00

Along with our first proper screening tonight, we are making the rather wonderful original soundtrack to the film available as a CD, in the hope of raising some support for two organisations in particular.

The first organisation we would love to be able to send support to is Rev Meg Guillebaud's school sponsorship work, which is a part of Friends of Byumba

Meg was born in Burundi and now lives in Northern Rwanda, working with the Diocese of Byumba - an area which was badly hit by the genocide and now has a huge population of war widows and orphans. Meg is extremely involved with the local community, organising training, medical funding and school sponsorship among many other things. It costs around £150 a year to support a child through school, and Meg's ability to facilitate orphans and the children of sick parents getting to school is restricted only by the amount she has to spend. Aloys, one of the main actors in the film, actually realised half way through the shoot that his own brother had been educated because of Meg's help with the fees. We would love to be able to contribute towards more school fees in this critical way.

The second organisation is the KOMEZUBUTWARI assocation, which is headed up by Emmanual Ulimubenshi - survivor of the class 6 attack. Emmanuel has been a crucial part of the process of making the film - he helped us with script research, with organising permission to film in the school, and during the actual shoot, was with the production team for the duration, helping us to reconstruct what happened in the most accurate way possible. (He is pictured below with Fabrice who played Emmanuel in the film).

The KOMEZUBUTWARI organisation is incredibly exciting - it was established by the survivors of the Nyange massacre, and their activities include the following:
- Organising training and debates around issues of reconciliation and peace
- Facilitating post-trauma care for attack victims
- Fundraising for the ongoing healthcare for those injured in the attacks, some of whom have still not received the medical attention they need after 10 years
- Fundraising to support attack victims through higher education after many missed getting the crucial government note which provides support through university

We are beginning to explore ways to support these wonderful guys in their work - if you have any questions or ideas, please don't hesitate to be in touch

Details about these initiatives and the soundtrack will follow shortly on the film's official website (currently work in progress):
www.WeAreAllRwandans.com

Completion!

2007-11-10T11:57:00.001-08:00

Well, it's pretty much done, and it looks like we have the opportunity to have a guest-list only screening of our film at BAFTA, but obviously this is only worth doing if you all can make it! They've been lovely in helping us set this up, but the date is only 10 days away - please check your diaries and let us know whether this is any good asap... (contact Debs at debs49 'at' gmail.com for details)

To refresh your memory if you don't want to read the archives: 'We Are All Rwandans' is mid-length (30 min) drama about childhood heroism in the aftermath of the Rwandan genocide. Based on a true story, and filmed in the actual locations where the events took place, this is a collaboration between UK and Rwandan film-makers to retell an amazing Rwandan story.

We are currently looking at two 'friends & family' screening dates - both to be confirmed asap: November 22nd at BAFTA, and Nov 30th at the RSA just off the Strand.

Details of booking/guest-listing will follow - we really hope you'll be able to join, to watch, and help us celebrate this whole thing actually coming together!

Nearly there & Funding!

2007-09-03T13:28:00.000-07:00

Well, the great news is, we've nearly done it. I hope that in the next couple of weeks we'll be finished and thinking in terms of screenings and DVDs! There are some stills below to give a sneak peak though...

Early responses have been good too, which is really encouraging. We also got news a few days ago that we are being fully funded for the costs so far and those remaining - amazing!

Big thanks to Ayuub and the RCC guys in Rwanda (check out RwandaFilmFestival.org) who are still working at their end recording voiceovers and uploading them to the net so we can download - as well as checking translations etc. It's quite cool that you can still work as a team from different sides of the planet.

Anyway - just a quick one really - but here are some stills from the cut... Look forward to being able to show you the whole thing :-)

ALSO - if anyone knows the best format for subtitling a film - please get in touch!!

xxxx

More photos from the shoot

2007-05-10T03:27:00.001-07:00

Are online at http://www.catsiye.com/rwanda-stills/

Update from London!?

2007-05-09T05:44:00.000-07:00

The Cast & Crew - from left to right...

Sonia, Eric, Tim, Bernie, Fabrice, Sven, Aloys, Viateur, Gladys, Sara, Solange, Debs
Mairi, Emmanuel, Kennedy, Ayuub, Billy, Celeste

Well - we're back. All apart from Sven at least, who's staying on now in Rwanda to work on another documentary. Bernie and I, Tim and Mairi flew in this morning (after an 8 hour layover in Nairobi - nice), which is what Sara had done the day before!

Tim's crane gets a run=out - wicked!

We said goodbye to the cast and crew in Kigali - hard to believe that 2 weeks have gone so quickly, and quite how much got done in that time!! I'll attempt to follow up this post with some sort of link to pictures of the shoot and everybody - they are such a cracking lot!

Kennedy playing the students' teacher, Mr Murigande

Still a little dazed to tell coherently of the 4 generators that packed up on us during a 5 day shoot, or Tim and Mairi's near miss getting on the plane from Entebbe (not their fault!) or Nairobi Eye Flies (better known to us now as Beelzebugs!), or the amazing support of the school students - including some of the siblings of those who died - who joined the film as cast, extras, techies and onlookers! ...

Or our incredible cast - who also mostly doubled as crew when they weren't acting!! - all found through the Rwanda Cinema Centre, who were a totally invaluable part of putting this together. Or Emmanuel and Emerte, survivors of the attack, who were script supervisors, extra-finders and incredibly supportive of the project.

Filming the rebels in a local townlet

Or for that matter, the amazing UK team - Sven, Tim, Mairi, Sara and Bernie - all self-funded, all unbelievably hard-working, passionate, talented and a real treat to do this with. Or particularly Ayuub, our co-writer and Rwandan producer extraordinaire - simply one of the best blokes you're ever likely to meet - and a gifted film-maker in his own right.

Recreating the attack scene, with guns loaned by the local police force!

More photos to follow - and maybe even some stills from the footage! Meanwhile - thanks loads for thoughts, prayers and support - even when it all went a bit mental, as it did more than once, it was a case of remembering that this really is quite an extraordinary story - and one definitely worth telling!

Our Nyange Students

Loads of love - xxxDebs

Update from Kigali!

2007-05-01T03:49:00.000-07:00

Just a quick one - from a very odd keyboard, so apologies for typos!

All going well - we got 2600 quid funding from 3 sources on the day we left!!! Talk about last minute, but HUGELY encouraging, not to mention a big relief...

Last day today before heading to the school to film - director of photography Tim and prod manager Mairi arrive tonight from their shoot in Uganda, meanwhile zwe are doing final castings here in Kigali

We have been to the school and it is so bequtiful. It's a difficult balance to be there with fun-loving students and actors, and the survivors and subject matter of the story we are there to film. It is a balance we will need to keep finding!

All is coming together - still got to find a way to recreate an explosion!! but we have all the regional permissions from police etc, ministry - crucial! - and are borrowing guns from the local police?!, have been working with survivors, and the wonderful rwanda cinema centre to finalise script details, run the castings, and make all the crazy arrange,ents - this in addition to nearly losing sven and bernie to the countryside yesterday when they drove to meet ayuub in an unmarked location near the school!

Really appreciate prayers and well wishing - it is certainly felt!

Filming now from tomorrow - weds - to next monday. All to do!

Time in byumba with debs aunt Meg was also wonderful - no time to say more - all love and thanks again for yr support and interest

xxx Us all

The Story...

2007-04-23T03:02:00.000-07:00

In 1997, three years after the Rwandan genocide, a large refugee camp was disbanded over the border between Rwanda and Zaire (now the Congo), causing a mass repatriation of genocide refugees and rebels back into Rwanda.

A group of rebels bent on destabilizing the new government infiltrated the north, an area called Kibuye, and carried out massacres, mostly against Tutsis.

On the night of 18th March 1997 they raided Nyange Secondary school in the North West of the country. The rebels surrounded the school dining hall and classes when all students were doing their night studies. Students in class 6 were made to lie down and asked to separate themselves into two groups: Hutu and Tutsi.

They refused.

This is the story of those students - whose refusal to separate cost many of them their lives, and who have recently been honoured as national heroes ten years after their deaths.

The film will be a short (around 15 mins) reconstruction of events - based on survivor testimonies and written by Rwandan film-maker Ayuub Kasasa Mago. We will be filming with the support of the Nyange school, and the student survivors association, and the actors will be speaking in the Rwandan national language, Kinywarwandan (to be subtitled for non-Rwandan viewers).

We have a fantastic crew onboard - all volunteering their time and skills:
Tim Neeves - Director of Photography
Sara Kewly - Assistant Director
Bernie Gardner - Composer
Mairi Neeves - Production Manager
Sven Pannell - Producer
Debs Gardner-Paterson - Director

We are currently unfunded - largely due to the speed with which the production has come together (something like 6 weeks from conception to shoot). Any offers of help would be very appreciated, as we will have something like £1500-2000 in costs most likely (over and above crew travel).

For those would just like to know what we're up to, or are who are pray-ers - what follows is a basic overview of what we'll be doing...

The schedule looks something like this:
April 25th Debs, Sara, Sven arrive Kigali >> Meet with Ayuub & focus on local pre-production - we will need to sort out permits to film, start casting the main parts, scouting locations in Kibuye and making finishing touches to the script.

April 26th Spend time in preparation with Ayuub (also with Debs' aunt Meg Guillebaud, who lives in Rwanda - Debs also delivering a website to her for her charity Friends of Byumba)

April 27th Bernie arrives Kigali

April 28th Drama & Music workshops with Meg in Byumba (as we are now no longer shooting the short in Byumba, need wisdom on how to handle these - do we bring actors from Kigali, do we split the team and leave some in Kigali to continue with film prep whilst we honour the commitment in Byumba with Meg... Very happy that Sara Hyde is joining us and can help bring her skills to this!) Bernie will run the music workshops - a trained African drummer himself - encouraging the kids in their incredible heritage!

April 29th Church service in Byumba - Debs to share car crash story, and to thank the many there who were praying for her & Sophie to recover. Certainly a very humbling experience. Afterwards there will be a concert from Byumba drummers and the Widow's Choir - Bernie will be working with, and hopes to record to use in film soundtrack.

April 30th Take Meg to the airport (she's off on holiday!) and head to Kibuye to begin prepping the shoot on location

May 2nd Tim and Mairi arrive from a shoot in Uganda in the evening - we'll pick them up from Kigali, and hope to start filming the next day

May 3rd-7th - Filming in Nyange school, and surrounding areas - filming the short and also some survivor testimonies

May 8th Bernie, Sara, Debs, Tim and Mairi fly home - Sven stays to direct a separate documentary!

Key Concerns at this stage
- None of the necessary permissions would be withheld. We are very keen to film in the school, as the headmaster feels it could be a really positive experience for the students, and the survivors association are also very supportive. We need permission from the ministry of drama and culture to do this and also to be able to bring a trauma counselor with us from Kigali.
- We also could be charged somewhat prohibitively for permission to film - it would be great if this were not the case! We are all volunteering, and working collaboration with Ayuub and the Rwandan Cinema Centre, and crucially any proceeds from the film will go back to Rwanda and not to us - so it would be great if we could avoid being charged £200 per crew member to film!!
- We need to find a good cast!
- The team has had very little chance to meet together in advance of going to film - so we're all trusting and working towards a great working relationship as we collaborate on this in what will be a very time-pressured two weeks.
- We need to be really sensitive to issues that this story relates to. The desire is that we make a film which communicates the immense bravery of these and so many other Rwandans in such and incredibly difficult and damaging time. We are thrilled to be working with Ayuub as writer and co-producer, whose voice, sensitivity and passion for the project are totally essential to our avoiding 'waltzing in' and telling a Western story. This story needs to be Rwandan.
- That said, we also need to be able to explain enough about life post-Genocide during the build up to events in the film that a Western audience will understand what it was that happened. On many levels it is a universal story - but it would be great to get this balance right!
- Finally, general stuff: in the last two weeks, Bernie had his laptop stolen (thankfully now replaced - hopefully insurance pays out), our car (Bernie & Debs) was hit whilst parked during the night, and bank details were cloned and the account drained. It would be great if there were no more of these!!!

I think that's it for now! If you're a pray-er, please pray! If you're a well-wisher, please wish us well! We really want to honour the memories of these kids and what they did, as well as be an encouragement and advocate of the many Rwandans who are living, and have lived and died for peace, forgiveness and each other. We also want to make an excellent little film.

We'll try and post updates as we go... loads of love and THANK YOU!

xx Debs, Bernie, Tim, Mairi, Sven, Sara and Ayuub!