A Note of Triumph: The Golden Age of Norman Corwin The Death of Kevin Carter The Mushroom Club
Rwanda, 2004, 28 minutes, in English and Kinyarwanda, subtitled
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Synopsis
Awards & Festival Screenings
About the Production
About the Filmmakers
Directors' Statements
Changes in Rwanda
Awards & Festival Screenings
About the Production
About the Filmmakers
Directors' Statements
Changes in Rwanda
SYNOPSIS
Uncovering amazing stories of hope in the aftermath of the Rwandan genocide, the award-winning GOD SLEEPS IN RWANDA captures the spirit of five courageous women as they rebuild their lives, and in doing so, are part of a much larger change to redefine women's roles in Rwandan society and bring hope to a wounded nation. Other films -- "The Last Just Man," "Hotel Rwanda" -- have documented the carnage in great detail. This film offers strong testimony to the hope, resilience and dedication of the women of Rwanda as they rebuild their lives and their country.
The 1994 Rwandan Genocide left the country nearly 70 percent female, handing Rwanda's women an extraordinary burden and an unprecedented opportunity. Now, girls are attending school in record numbers, and women now make up an increasingly large part of the country's leadership. Working with two cameras and no crew except for their translator - a genocide survivor herself - the filmmakers document incredible stories: an HIV-positive policewoman raising four children alone and attending night school to become a lawyer, a teenager who has become head of household for her four siblings, and a young woman orphaned in her teens who is now the top development official in her area.
Heart-wrenching and inspiring, this well-made film is a powerful reminder of the consequences of the Rwandan tragedy, and a tribute to the strength and spirit of those who are moving forward.
Academy Award (Oscar) Nominee for Best Documentary Short 2005;
Audience Award Palm Springs International Festival of Short Films 2005;
Audience Award, Aspen Shorts Fest 2005;
Audience Award, Silverdocs/AFI Film Festival 2005;
World Cinema Short Award, Phoenix Film Festival;
Best of Festival Award, Ojai Film Festival 2005;
Critic's Choice Award, Jackson Hole Docuweek 2005;
Jury Special Mention, Silverdocs/AFI Film Festival 2005;
Nominee, Distinguished Short Film, International Documentary Association
Nominee, Pare Lorentz Award (films illuminating pressing social issues) Intl Documentary Assoc.
Official selection for the "Statement of Courage & Hope," United Nations Film Festival; Amnesty International's Stop Violence Against Women; The Boston Museum of Fine Art; Harvard University's Carr Center for Human Rights; Steven Spielberg's Shoah Foundation, Los Angeles, CA; Woodrow Wilson International Center, Washington DC; Hawaii International Film Festival; International Documentary Association, Docuweek; United Nations Traveling Film Festival; Pacific Palisades Film Festival; Bahamas International Film Festival; Artists for Amnesty; Flickerfest International Short Film Festival.
ABOUT THE PRODUCTION [Back to Top]
Kimberlee Acquaro and Stacy Sherman set out to make a film that would both recognize the tragedy the women of Rwanda had endured during the 1994 genocide and honor their strength and spirit. Out of respect for the sensitive nature of the women's experiences the filmmakers worked in Rwanda with only two cameras and with no crew except for their translator, Norah Bagirinka, a genocide survivor herself.
Over time an atmosphere of friendship and trust developed between the filmmakers and their subjects - and the project became more than a film to both Acquaro and Sherman. When Fifi Mukangoga passed away during one of their visits due to HIV/AIDS contracted while being raped repeatedly during the genocide - and because she could not afford the antiretroviral drugs that had just become available for less than eighty dollars a month - the filmmakers resolved to use the film to raise money as well as awareness for the women survivors in Rwanda.
Through fundraising screenings they have raised nearly $25,000 to date. With the help of Amnesty International they were also able to bring their translator, Norah, to the U.S. in the fall of 2004 to travel with them and speak at film screenings. Norah applied for asylum and is now living in the U.S. and attending nursing school. The filmmakers are working to bring three sons to live with her in the United States.
READ this revealing interview with the filmmakers at FilmRadar.com: http://tinyurl.com/qbn85.
LISTEN to Tavis Smiley's interview with filmmakers Stacy Sherman & Kimberlee Acquaro: http://tinyurl.com/q7v45; or read the transcript at http://tinyurl.com/mb4u6.
LISTEN to an interview with filmmaker Kimberlee Acquaro on NPR: http://tinyurl.com/nr9xe.
LISTEN to audio clips and an interview with filmmaker Kimberlee Acquaro on Pacifica Radio KPFK Los Angeles: http://tinyurl.com/o7rjs.
Kimberlee Acquaro Stacy Sherman
ABOUT THE FILMMAKERS [Back to Top]
Director Kimberlee Acquaro is a filmmaker and photojournalist whose work has appeared in The New York Times Magazine, The Washington Post Magazine, Time Magazine, US New & World Report, Mother Jones and many international publications. Acquaro's work has also been featured on CBS, NPR, The Tavis Smiley Show, Voices of America and BBC/PRI's The World. She was awarded a Pew Fellowship in International Journalism for her work documenting Rwandan women's emerging rights and roles in the country's reconciliation and reconstruction. Her photographs have been exhibited in New York, NY, Santa Barbara, CA and Washington, D.C. and are currently on display through the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum. God Sleeps In Rwanda is her first documentary film. A new mother, Acquaro lives in Venice, CA with her husband and son.
Director Stacy Sherman holds a Bachelor's Degree from UCLA in International Relations and a Master's Degree from USC in Journalism. She has written screenplays for 20th Century Fox and Tri-Star Pictures and is currently writing a screenplay for Imagine Entertainment & Warner Bros. Ms. Sherman has also co-written, co-produced and co-directed, Waitress, a documentary short about Kaye Coleman, a Los Angeles waitress who died this year, but touched hundreds of lives with her humanity and spirit. She lives in Los Angeles with her husband and two children.
Narrator Rosario Dawson has starred in numerous films with today's most acclaimed actors and directors most recently as 'Mimi Valdez' in the upcoming adaptation of the famed Broadway play RENT. Since her debut in Larry Clark's KIDS she has appeared in Robert Rodriguez/Frank Miller's SIN CITY; Oliver Stone's ALEXANDER opposite Collin Farrell; Director Billy Ray's critically acclaimed SHATTERED GLASS; Spike Lee's films 25th HOUR and HE GOT GAME; MEN IN BLACK 2 with Will Smith and Tommy Lee Jones; the indie film THIS GIRLS LIFE; Ethan Hawk's CHELSEA WALLS and Ed Burns' SIDEWALKS OF NEW YORK among others. Dawson produced BLISS VIRUS, a short film by director Talia Lugacy and hopes to produce Lugacy's first feature. Born and raised in New York, Rosario continues to make her home there.
Editor Craig Tanner is a graduate of the Air Force Academy and served in the Air Force for 8 years as a film editor. After his military service he went on to work as an editor on feature films including "The Family Stone" (associate editor 2005), "The Passion of the Christ" (assistant editor 2004), "The Young Black Stallion" (first assistant editor 2003), "Shattered Glass" (associate editor 2003), "We Were Soldiers (assistant editor 2002), "Crocodile Dundee in Los Angeles" (assistant editor 2001). He is currently working on "Breach" with director Billy Ray. Tanner lives in Mexico with his wife and sons.
Translator Norah Bagarinka is a genocide survivor and mother. As an untiring advocate for women she has worked extensively for their aid, education and rights. She most recently directed a program with the International Rescue Committee aiding women victims of violence and genocide sexual survivors and training judges in the handling of women's cases in the genocide trials in Rwanda. Norah came to the U.S. to travel with the film and recently received asylum here. She is currently attending nursing school in Columbus, OH and working with the filmmakers to bring her three sons to the U.S. to live with her.
DIRECTORS' STATEMENTS [Back to Top]
"As a photojournalist working in Africa I was moved by the hope and the courage of the women I met in Rwanda. Abandoned by the world during the genocide and left to face their tragedy alone they transformed their survival into an extraordinary determination to change their lives and their country.
"I wanted to make a film that would give a voice to these women who had been silenced for so long and whose stories deserved to be told. They opened their hearts to us. My hope is that we have made a film that will do them justice."
~ Kimberlee Acquaro
"God Sleeps In Rwanda was a project that I pursued out of a long held passion for international journalism. I was immediately drawn to these women, their stories and their incredible strength; introduced to them through the tremendous work of photojournalist Kimberlee Acquaro.
"Words cannot describe the experience of being in Rwanda, of having the honor of meeting these survivors. I will never forget the kindness they extended toward us and hope that monies raised will benefit them in any way possible. I went to glimpse their lives and they ended up changing mine. Their spirits will resonate with me forever."
~ Stacy Sherman
CHANGES IN RWANDA, How You Can Help [Back to Top]
Rwandan Women Change Their World
Before the 1994 genocide boys outnumbered girls in school by 9 to 1.
Today boys and girls attend school in equal numbers.
Before the genocide fewer than 6 percent of college graduates were female.
Today women make up as much as 50 percent of the student body on Rwandan college campuses.
Before the genocide the government was just over 5 percent female.
Today, women make up 30 percent of Rwanda's local leadership and almost a quarter of national leadership.
Today, the Rwandan Lower House of Parliament contains 49 percent women - the highest percentage of women in any parliament in the world.
HOW YOU CAN HELP ...
... a message from Directors Kimberlee Acquaro & Stacy Sherman
Avega Agohozo - www.avega.org.rw
Association of Genocide Widows and Orphans
"We support Avega through our film's fundraising and profits. Avega is run by and for Rwanda's genocide survivors, helping women in every aspect of their lives from health care to school fees to housing and counseling. They also work politically for the protection and rights of Rwanda's women. All contributions go directly to Avega and the women in the film. Our only expense is the bank transfer fee to send the money.
"You can donate directly to Avega through a wire transfer or make a tax-deductible donation through 'The Generator' - the financial arm of Girlsite, www.girlsite.org. A Los Angeles non-profit for girls and young women, Girlsite is helping us raise and send money directly to the girls and women of Avega.
"You can make a tax deductible donation to the women in the film and other women like them through Avega - or make a contribution to our 'Teddy Bear Project' - an income generating project making teddy bears out of the beautiful and colorful Rwandan cloth...through Girlsite's fundraising arm Generator. Contact Director Kimberlee Acquaro at kimberlee_acquaro at yahoo dot com for more information."
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Women for Women International www.womenforwomen.org
Become a pen pal and a monthly sponsor for a woman in Rwanda
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Take Action to stop Genocide in Sudan today
www.genocideintervention.net
www.amnestyinternationalusa.org
www.campdarfur.org
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The information and photos herein were obtained from the filmmakers' website, imdb, Women Make Movies, FilmRadar.com, Tavis Smiley/KCET/PBS, the United Nations Association Film Festival, SilverDocs.com, oscar.com, The Onion, The Philadelphia City Paper, Pacifica Radio, Fahamu Network for Social Justice, Artists for Amnesty and various other festival websites.