A sage known as Voltaire once said ; ‘Life is a shipwreck but we must not forget to sing in the lifeboats’. This is not further than the truth when one considers the life journey of Kigali born radio producer/presenter and fashion designer Dudy alias Mwicira Mitari Dudy De Maximo.
Having witnessed the horrific carnage of his family in the hands of the perpetrators of the 1994 genocide against the Tutsi, De Maximo has certainly come a long way since then. On Wednesday, May 25 2011, De Maximo is set to receive the Young African Achievers award in the Netherlands for a movie project that has been a real revelation.
De Maximo, 29, a trained electrical engineer, will receive the Young African Achievers Awards after his thrilling yet educative movie ‘Short Cut’. The movie that highlights the hideous scenes of the 1994 genocide against Tutsi, will for the second time, be screened in Netherlands following numerous rave reviews.
The film, which is directed and filmed by De Maximo, features genocide victims who drowned as they tried to flee from the gory hands of the genocidaires, as others were killed and their bodies hurled into rivers.
The Young African Achievers Awards aims at providing role models and mentors to other young people. It also aims at acknowledging, motivating and highlighting the achievements of young people, developing leadership skills and cultivating a sense of pride and confidence in being an African.
The annual awards event is an initiative of the Young African Achievers organisation that brings together all African embassies based in the Netherlands. The head of the organisation, Professor Ruthiec Roma will hand over the award to De Maximo in the presence of Rwanda’s Ambassador to the Netherlands, Immaculate Uwanyirigira.
De Maximo is later expected to hold a 45 minute press conference with the media. His movie will also be screened to coincide with the closing ceremony of the 100 days commemoration of the 1994 Tutsi genocide to be held in the Netherlands.
De Maximo holds an advanced diploma in Electrical Engineering from the Kigali Institute of Science And Technology (KIST). He has previously worked in the German-based radio station- Deutsche Welle, as a transmitter operator in Kigali before serving as a logistics officer/technician, store officer and first-aid worker with other employers. He has also worked at Rwanda’s Press House and Contact FM radio station as an adviser and promoter/presenter, respectively.
At the age of 12, the 1994 genocide against Tutsi led him to the woodlands after losing his entire family. After 32 days, the Rwanda Patriotic Army now RDF(Rwanda Defense Force) which he later joined, came to his rescue. He retired as a soldier barely two years later to pursue other interests.
However, the artistic and go-getting de Maximo decided to venture into the world of fashion design and filmmaking, trades that have already began earning him continental accolades.
Leave a Reply