Tuesday, April 10, 2007

RWANDA ON THE BIG SCREEN

HOTEL RWANDA

The story is based on the real-life experiences of Paul Rusesabagina (Don Cheadle), the soft-spoken Hutu manager of the Hotel Des Mille Collines, in Kigali, who with his Tutsi wife, Tatiana (Sophie Okonedo), and children, narrowly escapes death several times. Mr. Rusesabagina was directly responsible for saving the lives of more than 1,200 Tutsis and Hutu moderates by sheltering them in the hotel and bribing the Hutu military to spare them.

Hotel Rwanda was filmed mostly in South Africa, with some filming in Kigali, Rwanda.

HOTEL RWANDA scored Oscar nominations for Best Actor/Don Cheadle, Best Supporting Actress Sophie Okonedo and Best Original Screenplay/Terry George & Keir Pearson.

Roger Ebert Hotel Rwanda Movie review click here


SOMETIMES IN APRIL

The drama is set in two periods, which unfold concurrently: In April 1994, after the Hutu Army begins a systematic slaughter of Tutsis and more moderate Hutus, Augustin and a fellow Army officer named Xavier, defying their leadership, attempt to get their wives and children to safety. Separated from his wife Jeanne and their two sons (whom he entrusts to the care of his reluctant brother), Augustin gets caught in a desperate struggle to survive. Barely escaping the purge, he's haunted by questions about what happened to his wife, sons and daughter (who was a student at a local boarding school).


In 2004, looking for closure and hoping to start a new life with his girlfriend Martine (who taught at his daughter's school), Augustin visits the United Nations Tribunal in Arusha, where Honoré awaits trial for the incendiary role he and other journalists played in the genocide. In the end, through an emotional meeting with Honoré, Augustin learns the details of his family's fate, giving him closure and, perhaps, hope for happiness in the future. More Information from HBO Films Click here

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