Reconciliation in Rwanda

This is not a trip, mission or junket; this is journey to tell a story. A story of horrid sin, incredible hope, and miraculous forgiveness.

Throughout the 20th century, Belgium ideology created a horrible division among a once united Rwanda. In 1994, the world largely stood by as machete-wielding Hutus slaughtered nearly a million of their Tutsi neighbors in 100 days of the Rwandan genocide. While the killings and violence peaked in 1994, the previous 50 years had been marked with hatred, murder and darkness.

In recent years, the story of the genocide has been told in many books, reports, movies and documentaries. However, the story of the radical forgiveness that is unfolding in the wake of this infamous national massacre has rarely been told. Reconciliation in Rwanda, a film by Laura Waters, will explore the power of forgiveness restoring the most hopeless relationship, that of a murderer and his victim's family.

Why are people who’ve lost entire families willing to forgive and befriend the very ones who destroyed their lives? Why are once-militant Hutus who macheted their neighbors to death now repenting and seeking absolution? How does the church, which fundamentally failed at moral leadership during the genocide, fit into the process of reconciliation today? In a world that exalts “justice for all,” what does the concept of radical forgiveness say about the human capacity to forgive and its need for redemption? And what does it mean for the restoration and future of Rwanda?

Reconciliation in Rwanda portrays three individuals caught in opposite tides of Rwanda’s genocidal bloodbath and their extraordinary journey from death to life through forgiveness. Using the intimately personal stories of a former genocide murderer, his victim’s wife, and a genocide orphan, the goal for the film is to communicate the deeper truth of humanity’s need for redemption. Forgiveness can restore the most hopeless of situations.

Laura will be on the ground filming for 30 days, and Jeannie will be by her side for the first 15 days.




Reconciliation in Rwanda Documentary Film

FAQs

What is the film about?

This 30-minute documentary is about the miracle of radical forgiveness occurring in Rwanda in the years since the 1994 genocide. The film will feature a number of projects of reconciliation that were birthed by the Anglican Church in Rwanda and will tell the personal stories of genocide prisoners and their victim’s families as they struggle to forgive and live in peace together.

What are the objectives of this project?

Inasmuch as the film will be a window into the ministry of the Church in Rwanda, it will serve multiple purposes within the Church of the Resurrection and the broader Anglican Mission in America. The film will also satisfy the requirements for Laura Waters’ thesis within the Master of Fine Arts program at American University.
How is the film relevant to the goals of the Church of the Resurrection?

The Church of the Resurrection is partnered with a sister congregation in Nyagatare, Rwanda. We also have important relationships with Kigali Anglican Theological College, Sonrise Orphanage in Ruhengeri, and St. Etienne Cathedral in Kigali, to name a few. Our partnerships are founded on a commitment to mutual relationship. It would be absurd to think of our Rwandan friends sending money, clothing or medicine to Washington, DC. Instead, they offer us other gifts, especially ones that are spiritual in nature. Chief among these gifts is their story—their personal testimony to the immense healing that God is doing in their nation. To our litigious, well-protected American culture, the reality that neighbors who once hacked one another to death with machetes are now forgiving and working together as friends in the same community is mind-blowing. Our desire is to communicate this incredible story of redemption in hopes of pointing others to the Redeemer.

Why should we do this?

The Church of the Resurrection is in a unique position to produce this film. We have strategic relationships with the key leaders of the Anglican Church in Rwanda. In fact, they are the frontrunners of the nation’s reconciliation movement. Genuine forgiveness and reconciliation is occurring because of the faithful endeavors of our Rwandan brothers and sisters. And it is because of our love and trust of one another that they are granting us access to the frontlines of these reconciliation efforts.
Rwanda’s president, Paul Kagame, recently commented on the latest feature film about the genocide:

These films, much as they illustrate what took place here in 1994, should be able to depict this country's current trend of events regarding unity, reconciliation and the systematic development path being trodden. This will act as a reminder to those who have not yet come here to realize that after our bad history, we have managed to put ourselves back on track for sustainable development.


Kagame is right: most films produced about Rwanda focus on the horror of the genocide rather than the healing that has transpired. The hope and restoration occurring at the hands of our Christian brothers and sisters are the inspiration for the film. At the First Fridays event in February, Bishop John Rucyahana told us, “I stand on a heap of bones, preaching hope to my nation.” This film aims to extend his message to the rest of the world.


Once completed, how will the film be used?

The film will be used in a variety of foreseen and unforeseen ways. It will be utilized as an outreach tool, both for the Church of the Resurrection and other Anglican Mission churches. Initially, the film will be premiered at a First Fridays event in the fall. We plan to rent out a theater and urge the congregation to fill it with neighbors, coworkers and anyone else who might benefit from hearing about the power of forgiveness.

The film will also be featured at next year’s AMiA Winter Conference, as well as at AMiA churches in the Northeast Network. It will create opportunities to host ecumenical event screenings with other churches in our community, such as Washington Community Fellowship, National Community Church, Christ our Shepherd, etc.
Ultimately, the “dream” is for PBS or some other television network to acquire and air the film on a national level. This, of course, is contingent upon the final production quality of the film which is inextricably linked with the amount of money raised for production costs.


The film will also be submitted to a number of film festivals, such as the DC Film Festival and other festivals that promote human rights and international human interest stories.