Africa Screening Tour
Rwanda Premiere
On Friday July 3, 2009, 'As We Forgive' held the premiere of the film in Rwanda's capital city of Kigali in association with Rwanda's Ministry of Sports and Culture. More than 5,000 people flocked to the Petit Stade to enjoy music from popular Rwandan musicians Sargeant Robert, The Ben, and Aime Uwimana. After the sun had set, 'As We Forgive' was shown in the country's native language of Kinyarwandan to an attentive audience. The premiere also served as the launch for our Rwanda Initiative which hopes to take our inflatable screen to all 30 districts of the country!
Rwanda Screening Tour
The premiere launched a nationwide screening tour of As We Forgive, screening in schools, churches, universities and villages across the country. Our goal is to make the film available to all government and non-profit reconciliation projects to be used as an educational tool to spark further discussion of reconciliation after genocide.
We purchased a cinema sized inflatable screen and sound system to help us spread the message of 'As We Forgive' to the corners of the country! Working in association with the Rwandan goverment, we have begun a Rwandan-led tour of the film to schools and villages in all 30 districts of the country. Each screening is followed by a discussion program developed by the Rwanda Initiative's steering committee. The government would even like to see a copy of the film in every school and we are going to do our best to make the film available both through screenings and distributing the film all who want to see it.
We were especially pleased to be able to accompany the film to Sonrise School in Ruhengeri on our last trip to Rwanda. The students packed the cafeteria on a Sunday afternoon and the school's 'Never Again' Club, led by AWF's Joy Muyana, put on opening skits to prepare the student body for what they were about to see. The film facilitated many questions and comments with the discussion leader following it's conclusion.
We are currently seeking funding for these efforts, so if you or someone you know might be interested in helping make the Rwandan screening tour happen, please contact us here.