{"id":2000112949,"date":"2026-05-24T10:34:36","date_gmt":"2026-05-24T08:34:36","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/?p=2000112949"},"modified":"2026-05-24T15:17:57","modified_gmt":"2026-05-24T13:17:57","slug":"rwandan-film-benimana-wins-camera-dor-at-cannes","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/rwandan-film-benimana-wins-camera-dor-at-cannes\/","title":{"rendered":"Rwandan film Ben\u2019Imana wins Cam\u00e9ra d\u2019Or at Cannes"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The announcement was made at the closing ceremony of the 2026 Cannes Film Festival on Saturday, where Ben\u2019Imana was selected from more than 30 debut feature films competing across different categories. The film was screened in the Un Certain Regard section, which showcases original storytelling and works that explore complex social and human issues.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>A story rooted in memory and reconciliation<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Set in 2012, as the community-led Gacaca courts were nearing their conclusion, Ben\u2019Imana examines the gruelling emotional labour of forgiveness and reconciliation in the post-Genocide against the Tutsi era.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The narrative centres on a profound philosophical rift between two sisters: V\u00e9n\u00e9randa, a survivor who leads community workshops to help victims process trauma and offer absolution, and Suzanne, a grieving mother who views forced moving on as a victory for the perpetrators who murdered her husband and children.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">When V\u00e9n\u00e9randa\u2019s teenage daughter, Tina, unexpectedly becomes pregnant, the fragile peace of their household is upended. Tina\u2019s pregnancy serves as a catalyst that forces long-buried trauma, historical silence, and unresolved family tensions to the surface.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">This crisis forces Veneranda to confront painful memories from her past, movingly exploring themes of deep forgiveness, intergenerational trauma, and the difficult path to true reconciliation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1000\" height=\"1413\" src=\"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/106099-53273.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-2000112952\"\/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Award-winning Rwandan director Marie-Cl\u00e9mentine Dusabejambo makes remarks after winning the Cam\u00e9ra d\u2019Or for her debut feature film <em>Ben\u2019Imana<\/em> at the Cannes Film Festival on Saturday, May 23.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Director Marie-Cl\u00e9mentine Dusabejambo said the film was created to honour Rwandan women, particularly mothers who played a vital role in rebuilding unity and fostering reconciliation after the Genocide against the Tutsi.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">She noted that despite enduring deep personal and collective trauma, these women demonstrated extraordinary resilience by continuing to live, offering forgiveness, and helping rebuild their families and communities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cTo receive this Golden Camera Award at Cannes for a first film is an immense wave of gratitude,\u201d she said while accepting the award during the Cannes closing ceremony.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cI wanted to make this film because I wanted to pay tribute to the women of my country, women who, through horror, found the strength to stand up with dignity, to forgive, and to move forward, even painfully.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1000\" height=\"1250\" src=\"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/saveclip_app_705647844_1464914285682399_4104286294101302659_n-3a46e.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-2000112953\"\/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\"><em>Ben\u2019Imana<\/em> became the first film directed by a Rwandan filmmaker to be selected for the Un Certain Regard section at the 79th edition of the Cannes Film Festival. <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The Cam\u00e9ra d\u2019Or jury, chaired by Monia Chokri, praised the award recipient for choosing to confront difficult historical truths rather than remain silent. The jury highlighted the film\u2019s courage in addressing sensitive and complex themes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The success of Ben\u2019Imana marks a significant milestone for Rwandan cinema and its growing international recognition. It reflects Rwanda\u2019s emerging presence on the global film stage not only as a source of powerful stories, but also as a country producing filmmakers capable of conveying them with artistic depth and emotional impact.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The film is an international co-production involving contributors from Rwanda, Gabon, France, Norway, and C\u00f4te d\u2019Ivoire. Among the collaborators is Samantha Biffot, who contributed to the production.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation Olivier Nduhungirehe also welcomed the film\u2019s success, noting that it is a source of pride for Rwanda.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cA tremendous honour for Rwanda and for Francophonie, which co-produced the film,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-embed-handler wp-block-embed-embed-handler wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Ben\u2019Imana | Behind the Journey to Cannes 2026\" width=\"500\" height=\"281\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/pKOFR2nwfGg?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe>\n<\/div><\/figure>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The Rwandan film Ben\u2019Imana, directed by Marie-Cl\u00e9mentine Dusabejambo, has won the prestigious Cam\u00e9ra d\u2019Or award at the Cannes Film Festival. The award, also known as the Golden Camera, recognises the best first feature film presented across all sections of the festival.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":131,"featured_media":2000112951,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[13],"tags":[69],"byline":[192],"hashtag":[],"class_list":["post-2000112949","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-entertainment","tag-homehighlights","byline-wycliffe-nyamasege"],"bylines":[{"id":192,"name":"Wycliffe Nyamasege","slug":"wycliffe-nyamasege","description":"","image":{"id":0,"url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/?s=96&d=mm&f=y&r=g","alt":"Default avatar","title":"Default avatar","caption":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","sizes":[]},"user_id":131}],"contributors":[{"id":192,"name":"Wycliffe Nyamasege","slug":"wycliffe-nyamasege","description":"","image":{"id":0,"url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/?s=96&d=mm&f=y&r=g","alt":"Default avatar","title":"Default avatar","caption":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","sizes":[]},"user_id":131}],"featured_image":{"id":2000112951,"url":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/f004e7287ed4288ea282f2d31a305c5d-5d4fc.jpg","alt":"","caption":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","width":1000,"height":667,"sizes":{"thumbnail":{"url":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/f004e7287ed4288ea282f2d31a305c5d-5d4fc.jpg","width":150,"height":100},"medium":{"url":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/f004e7287ed4288ea282f2d31a305c5d-5d4fc.jpg","width":300,"height":200},"medium_large":{"url":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/f004e7287ed4288ea282f2d31a305c5d-5d4fc.jpg","width":768,"height":512},"large":{"url":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/f004e7287ed4288ea282f2d31a305c5d-5d4fc.jpg","width":1000,"height":667},"full":{"url":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/f004e7287ed4288ea282f2d31a305c5d-5d4fc.jpg","width":1000,"height":667}}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2000112949","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/131"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2000112949"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2000112949\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2000112954,"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2000112949\/revisions\/2000112954"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2000112951"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2000112949"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2000112949"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2000112949"},{"taxonomy":"byline","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/byline?post=2000112949"},{"taxonomy":"hashtag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/hashtag?post=2000112949"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}