Category: Arts & Culture

Today the Refugee Film Festival will be launched at 6.30 pm at the Ishyo Theater Hall in Kacyiru.

The festival will include the screening of “One Life One Story” short films and “Sierra Leone’s Refugee All Stars” as well as a panel discussion on pertinent refugee issues today.

UNHCR and MIDIMAR will deliver an opening address, to be followed by the screening of the short films “One Life One Story”.

In this series shot on the borders of conflict zones around the Great Lakes region, refugees and internally displaced people talk about being forced from their homes and how that experience has shaped their lives.

The short films will be followed by the musical documentary “Sierra Leone’s Refugee All Stars”, which tells the remarkable story of a group of six Sierra Leonean musicians who formed a band while living as refugees in the Republic of Guinea.

To conclude the first evening, a panel discussion on the issues highlighted in the films will be held.

The panel will consist of the UNHCR Representative, Ms Neimah WARSAME, the returnee, Hope AZEDA of Mashirika theatre group, the former Mufti of Rwanda, Sheikh Saleh HABIMANA (Rwanda Governance Board), and the journalist and former Rwandan refugee in Zambia, Geraldine MUKAKABEGO.

Rwanda has been selected to host the first edition of the EAC Arts and Culture Festival scheduled to take place from 27 October to 4 November 2012.

The EAC Deputy Secretary General in charge of Productive and Social Sectors Hon. Jesca Eriyo announced that Rwanda had been selected by the evaluation committee after “having submitted the most outstanding proposal”.

Rwanda’s bid to host the historic event eclipsed that presented by Uganda, which is the other EAC Partner State that had expressed interest in hosting the Festival.

The EAC Arts and Culture Festival comes to life following a decision by the 23rd Council of Ministers meeting held in Arusha in September 2011 to have the region host regular arts and culture festivals.

The festivals, to be hosted by the Partner States on a rotational basis, aim to foster an East African cultural identity that depicts the cultural life of East Africans, illustrate their cultural unity in diversity and to create an enabling environment for the promotion and development of arts and creative industries as a viable tool for sustainable socio-economic development.

The festivals will contribute greatly towards the promotion of cultural tourism as well as conservation, safeguarding and development of cultural heritage and the overall marketing of regional cultural groups, workers and creators with their diverse products at regional and international levels.

“The theme of this year’s festival will be ‘Deepening Integration through Culture and Creative Industries’, with the main objective of bringing artistes and East Africans together to dialogue, learn, exchange, network, and celebrate the region’s rich and diverse cultural heritage,” Hon. Eriyo said.

She added that the Festival will provide a platform for East Africans to celebrate their similarities and diversities, while deepening and widening the arts and culture market and promoting better understanding of the benefits of integration in the Community and beyond.

Over the nine-day duration of the inaugural event, a variety of activities are planned, including cultural villages, art exhibitions, fashion shows, workshops and symposiums as well as live performances, among others. These will be conducted at more than five different venues.

The first edition of the Festival has targeted to attract a minimum of 3,000 visitors, staying an average of 10 days with an average expenditure of USD 70 per day. This would generate visitor expenditure of USD 2.1 million.

In addition, the Festival is expected to generate short term and indirect employment especially for the young people aged 20-35 years and provide an additional fillip to ancillary sectors like the media and hospitality sectors.

Hon. Eriyo thus urged all Partner States to lend their support to the event and actively participate in the Festival, and further called on the private sector, civil society organizations and indeed the whole citizenry of the Community to take advantage of the festival to display their talents and “learn from our diverse, rich and interesting culture as it will be displayed; and trade among themselves”.

The Deputy Secretary General also noted the Festival will showcase employment opportunities and experiences that East Africans can harness.

The biennial EAC Arts and Culture festivals are mooted to be held in conjunction with host Partner State Governments, private sector and civil society and are expected to attract a cross section of East Africans and visitors to the region alike.

Vessels of all shapes and sizes took part in the historic pageant including royal barge Spirit of Chartwell, with the 86-year-old monarch and her proud family on board.

About 1.25 million well-wishers packed the river’s banks in London, cheering in spite of grey skies and heavy downpours while around the country, thousands more held street parties to mark the day.

Bedraggled Brits used to holiday deluges lined the Thames joined by foreign visitors determined to shrug off the weather and pay tribute to Her Majesty’s 60-year reign.

The Queen defied the wind and rain without an umbrella to wave from beneath an ornate canopy on the Spirit of Chartwell as it joined a magnificent flotilla making the seven-mile trip from Battersea to Tower.

Tonight three winners will be announced at The Award Ceremony of the Film Script Competition at Ishyo center at 7.30 pm. Also a film “LA FILLE DU GRAND MONSIEUR” will be casting by one of the jury members, Georges Kamanayo, which starts at 6.30 pm.

Young Rwandan filmmakers and scriptwriters (up to 35 years) were asked to develop a paper for a short film on the topic of “Zero Tolerance for Gender Based Violence”.

In the case of the AWARD the script for a SHORT FEATURE FILM should deal with school related gender based violence.

• contain the idea of the film (short paragraph)

• contain the summary/synopsis (1-2 pages)

• contain a sample of dialogue (1-2 pages)

• consist of no more than 4 pages in total

• be handed in until April 30th 2012 as both soft- and hardcopy

• be written in English language, whereas the film itself is to be produced in Kinyarwanda with English subtitles.

An acclaimed Ghanian novelist and poet Nii Ayikwei Parkes will be in Rwanda this weekend and lead a creative writing workshop. The session will be interactive and provide a chance for developing and sharing your own writing.

This is a unique opportunity for writers and aspiring writers in Kigali to get inspiration and advice from one of the most exciting new voices in contemporary African literature. Parkes’ novel Tail of the Blue Bird (Random House) was shortlisted for the Commonwealth Prize.

A 2007 recipient of Ghana’s national ACRAG award for poetry and literary advocacy, he has held visiting positions at the University of Southampton and California State University and delivered lectures and talks on poetry and creative writing at universities internationally.

As a poet he has published several pamphlets and his latest books of poetry are the Michael Marks Award-shortlisted Ballast: a remix (2009), described in the Guardian as, “An astonishing, powerful remix of history and language” and The Makings of You (Peepal Tree Press).

Inyamibwa-cultural troupe of the National university of Rwanda plans to present their outreach activities promoting Rwandan culture at Amahoro Stadium from March 21 to 23.

The students intend to convey Rwandan culture through the youth to share the rich heritage.

150 members of Inyamibwa-cultural troupe will travel around the country senstising the youth about dangers of drugs, AIDS and the true values of the Rwandan culture.

Inyamibwa troupe will perform original Rwandan traditional songs and dance.

The troupe also aims at encouraging elite Rwandans to embrace their traditional culture . Some strategies include teaching cultural studies in high schools.

At the function people will have the opportunity to discover the varieties of original songs from several corners of the country and decoration accompanying their dances.

Tonight Wednesday 14 March, at 7 pm will be memorable for all cultural literary enthusiasts. One of the most prolific of Rwanda’s cultural activists; will be showcasing a whole new side to his eminent multifaceted creativity.

The amazing performance from Rugano will be held at the cultural center of Ishyo at the theater hall. Free entrance for all.

Kalisa Rugano was born at Rutongo in Buliza region in 1946 and later fled into exile in Congo and Burundi. From the very start of his career as an African poet and play writer he quickly became perhaps one of the Rwanda’s prominent cultural activists.

During his career Rugano has written 26 plays in Kinyarwanda, Kirundi and French. Rugano says his poems are a collection can be portrayed as the gushing need for the revitalization and rehabilitation of a people who suffered so much torture, “Poetry is LIBERATION!” which was published in 2010.

Rugano was inspired by the life experiences and teachings of his professor teacher Jean-Baptiste Mutabaruka who wasthe inspiration for the name of his ballet theater.

In 1980 Ruhgano created a group called “Mukabutura Ballet Theater” where he showcases his collections of poems.

Mutabaruka is also a Rwandan poet who now resides in Bujumbura. He was born in 1937 to Catholic parents in the eastern region of Rwanda, and was educated among the “Catholic Fathers” in the Congo.

The red carpet film screening for the young Rwandan directors will be held at Ishyo Theatre (today) Tuesday 28th . The films will be screened in front of directors who will individually speak to the crowds about their movies.

The four films for screening include; “Note bene” by Richard Mugwaneza, “Saa Ipo” by Jean Luc Fils Habyarimana, “Ruhago” by Aime Philbert Mbabazi, and “Mama” by Jean Bosco Nshimiyana.

Richard Mugwaneza worked for two years with film Production Company Almond Tree Films productions as a permanent cinematographer and film editor, and after working on other filmmakers’ projects, started freelance film directing and screenwriting career.

“The Idea of “Nota Bene” came to him while he was resting after a long journey of work; he said I switched on my radio and heard that a journalist visited people from the furthest parts of the village in Rwanda.”

“So my message to them became message” No Better Place than Home” stated Mugwaneza. The real meaning of the film’s title “NOTA BENE” is derived from Latin which simply translated means Pay Attention”.

“From the youngest to the oldest, the dream was to see what the capital city looks like.”

Jean Luc Fils Habyarimana the director of “SAA IPO” is a 28 year old gospel singer who Habyarimana worked as first assistant camera operator on Lee Isaac Chung’s film Munyurangabo, which won the Grand Jury Prize at the 2007 Cannes Film Festival.

Habyarimana worked on the crew of Maibobo, a short film by Yves Montand Niyongabo, and as cinematographer on Kinyarwanda, a film by Alrick Brown.

Jean Bosco Nshimiyana and Aime Philbert Mbabazi are both young upcoming directors who will also be at the screening, where they will be showing their movies for the first time both are very excited and are eager as well as apprehensive about the public’s feedback.

The directors will be present to introduce their works before the screening, where after all four movies have been shown the directors will be available for questions and discussions. The films will be 6.30 pm, in the Iysho halls, entrance is free.

Izuba editions, an upcoming library that focuses on the deliverance of historical editions on Rwandan History and the Great Lakes region will be bridging the gap of Rwanda’s limited access to literary history.

Izuba means “the sun” in Kinyarwanda is the name of the library that was first created in Belguim by author Jean Paul Gouteux a co-editor with “l’Espirit magazine“. His essential hope was expanding peoples’ knowledge on what has for the last decade been a rigid history imposed by foreign societies as well as Rwanda a limit on subjects concerning Rwanda history before the genocide.

At the beginning of colonial invasion, two ethnic tribes in Rwanda have had to live with prejudice and this has proven to be hardest thing they have to live with. But the question is, what was Rwanda like before the colonists came and changed everything..Pops up in conversations.

Soon these questions will be answered in the books that will be coming across nations near your local bookstores.

The 1994 tutsi genocide left the world numb with shock that interference in social and cultural affairs can lead up to disaster. In Jean Pierre’s Chretien’s book “Great Lakes history, 2000 year of history.”
He deconstructs the myths that were so important. The society and the Rwandan culture.

His book is full of documentation’.It is full of ancient Rwandan cultural and social relation until the colonial ambitions destroyed all that.

Izuba editions which commenced in 2011 last year teamed up with a group of people that decided to create a place that has the largest possible access to scripts documents and testimonies as well as analysis on the region of the Great lakes.

Other books in the Izuba editions that will soon be available include “The children of God” written by Jean-Luc Galabert, a non fiction novel that talks about the ancient Rwandan social and cultural history.

Jacques Moral’s novel “France in the heart of the Genocide of the Tutsi” and Lastly but not least “The Black Night” a 5 volume book originally in French that contains details and testimonies of the implications of the French in the last genocide that occurred in Rwanda, a special report by Rapport Mucyo.

The books are currently on sale on line or can be bought in bookstores across Belgium for only 20Euro’s, but the Izuba library will be expanding its sales to bookstores across the globe.

Yes, oh yes….it is CARNIVALE season in Brasil…in particular in Rio de Janiero…and anyone who loves dancing as much as I do, knows this is one of the highlights of the global dance calendar each year.

It’s that time of the year…Dancing and of course….drumming….and spangles, feathers….and most of all the spirit that is ‘community’.

I know I am amongst friends as I write this, because the Rwandan skillful dance is known throughout the world. I have a modest collection of antique Rwandan postcards and amongst them your dance traditions are well represented.

I must say, one of the most extraordinary experiences of my life was standing at the entrance to the Sambadrome….tens of thousands singing in Portugese from the stands…drum beats pumping out the rhythm…surrounded by thousands of twirling, dancing, singing dancing performers – young and old, tall and short, thin and fat….everyone in the community…and everyone smiling!

That celebration of community life, dance, culture, history, music and costume….The colour….The spectacle! …that goes from dusk to dawn, twice! …needless to say it was one of the most remarkable experiences of my life!

All praise to the Brasilians for having the brains to build the Sambadrome! What a place! Approximately 30m wide and 700m long…a straight, flat piece of concrete…more like a runway to look at rather than a stage….but indeed – what a stage it becomes!!!!

For a rank amateur dancer like me…the chance of a lifetime to perform in front of tens of thousands!….well, when you think about the global broadcasting of the Carnivale…I guess I did actually perform in front of millions….Woo hoo! (Thankfully they weren’t looking too closely at my footwork or listening to my appauling attempt at singing in Portugese hee hee)

You can’t find anything even close to the Sambadrome in Australia (I wish I could)…instead we spend $100M on building a football stadium to passively watch about forty men play combative sport and chase a ball around a field each weekend during Winter….uuugghghhhh!

As the Rwandan tourism industry is thriving, there is much to be learnt from those Brasilians – the Carnivale itself is a remarkable global tourist drawcard! ..and no wonder!

As reported on the www.rio-carnival.net website “The five-day mega-event will be broadcast live around the world. Carnival in Rio generates 250,000 jobs and revenues of some $640 million for hotels, bars and restaurants, according to state officials. City officials expect more than five million people, including 850,000 tourists, to attend.”

…of course, none of that factors in the profit from the sale of the television broadcasting rights.

With so many similarities between Brasilian Samba and so much Rwandan music…such obvious links between those cultural expressions….I hope there is some sharing of dance expertise fostered by your government…..as the history of Brasilian Samba is deeply embedded in Africa.

“In the slums of downtown Rio, a place referred to as ‘Little Africa’, they established a number of religious houses devoted to religious ceremonies where they played and danced the early forms of samba. However, African religions were illegal in a dominantly catholic Brazil. These roots of samba remained invisible to the white elite for a long time.” Source: http://www.rio-carnival.net/rio_carnival/rio_carnival_programs.php

As for why listen to an Aussie about fostering your tourism through Rwandan dance, I first learnt Latin dance through Rio Rhythmics Latin Dance Academy in Brisbane which has taught more than 20,000 Australians to latin dance since it began in 1994. Thus as a community, we embrace dances from other cultures! Every year its founder, Brazilian Tarcisio Teatini-Climaco takes a group of his students to dance in the Carnivale in Rio.

As reported by Angela Surine in ‘The Courier Mail’ on February 11 – 12, 2012 ‘The equivalent of half the Australian population will take an overseas trip each year by 2017 as the love affair with international travel continues.” With the Australian population over 20 million…that equates to more than 10 million travelling abroad each year….that’s a lot of Aussie tourists looking for somewhere to visit each year!

From my experience Rwanda is known for two things in Australia and they both start with ‘G’….Gorillas…and the 1994 Tutsi Genocide. I know there is a lot more to Rwanda than this….I look forward to the day when Rwandan dance troupes tour Australia regularly.

I know they have travelled elsewhere including in Europe. There is no greater Ambassador for a country – than the; Arts,music,dance,performing arts,visual arts,and mixed media. The Arts builds cross-cultural bridges and respect for others traditions.

Certainly at the Queensland Performing Arts Centre in the last few years I have seen the Cuban ballet, a Cuban contemporary dance company, a couple of Brasilian bands, the Bueno Vista Social Club and at The Powerhouse – TaikOz – a large Australian-based Japanese drumming band, whose members regularly study in Japan. I look forward to the day that I read that Rwandan dancers, musicians and singers are coming to town! I’ll be the one in the front row!

We Aussie’s love great music and dance from all over the world! Therefore, please come to Australia…let us shower you with applause! I am sure we will.

The Author is a Director
Plan-it Life Pty Ltd

Australia