KAMPALA, UGANDA- Rwandan movie, Ntiryari Iherezo (It Was Not the End) was declared the best short film in the four-day Amakula Kampala Cinema Caravan Festival that was held at Uganda's National Theatre recently.
The 26-minute movie took home the 7th Golden Impala Award handed out to the Best Short Movie from Eastern Africa.
The movie, directed by Valens Habarugira and Jean de Dieu Minani emerged the best after strong competition from four other movies. They included Imani director Carol Kamya's Fire Fly (Uganda), which got a Special Mention from the jury as a runner-up movie. The other movies in competition were Boxer (Kenya), Salani (Mozambique) and Zed Crew (Zambia).
The Golden Impala jury headed by Ugandan author Doreen Baingana alongside Charles Asiba from the Kenya Film Commission and Peter Mbwago, a Tanzanian filmmaker lauded the winning movie for its portrayal of disability which is not inability in a positive and non-sentimental manner.
"In a very short time we
get a real sense of the subject's whole life, full of dignity and hard work as he uses his unique skills, while his inner and outer strengths, pride and love for his family are beautifully evoked.
"The directors' skillful preparation and rapport with their subjects was clear and full justice was done to the spectacular scenery. This is truly an East African story," the jury said in its citation.
Ntiryari Iherezo (It Was Not the End) is a quiet and observant portrait of Claude Uwamahore, a man in Rwanda, who goes about his daily business of keeping bees and tending
to his family. What is remarkable about him is that he lives without legs having lost his limbs during the 1991 Rwandan warfare. This fact, though remarkable in itself, hardly deters him from his energetic activities.
Fire Fly on the other hand got plaudits for not only being technically accomplished but also for transcending the usual scope of African cinema by having a Chinese setting, characters and themes. "This gesture is emblematic of the festival's theme: translating experience," the jury cited. Over 100 movies from Uganda, East Africa, Africa and the rest of the world were screened.
Subscribe to this comment's feed
