Intended Audience
The Center for the Study of Democracy, in collaboration with the African and African Diaspora Studies program and International Languages and Cultures, is pleased to sponsor a free film screening of acclaimed Rwandan director Kivu Ruhorahoza's "Grey Matter" (2011, 110 minutes) followed by a question and answer session with the director.
Synopsis: Balthazar is a young African filmmaker on the brink of directing his first project, "The Cycle of the Cockroach", a fictional story about a young woman who survived unspeakable atrocities only to find herself committed to the same mental institution as a man driven insane by the crimes he perpetrated during the war. Potential funders for the film insist the themes are too bleak and pessimistic-they encourage Balthazar to make a "message" film that raises awareness about gender-based violence or HIV/AIDS instead. Ruhorahoza's debut marks the very first feature-length narrative film directed by a Rwandan filmmaker living in his homeland. (by Roya Rastegar for IMBD.com)
This screening is one of a special set of programs entitled “Remembering Rwanda: 30 years after the Genocide against the Tutsi," which is part of the CSD's inaugural "Africa Series," a collaboration of the Africa and African Diaspora Studies program and the Center for the Study of Democracy, brings to campus scholars, activists and artists, whose work engages with the history, peoples and cultures of the African continent and its diasporas.