Ben'Imana breaks Cannes barrier as Rwandan feature
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- Mk2 Films boarded sales for Marie‑Clémentine Dusabejambo’s post‑genocide drama Ben'Imana ahead of its world premiere at Cannes Un Certain Regard in May.
- Ben'Imana became the first feature by a Rwandan director to be selected for the Cannes Official Selection.
- The film is set in 2012 Rwanda and follows Vénéranda, a genocide survivor working in community‑led justice, while a personal family crisis tests her convictions.
- Production is an African majority co‑production involving Rwanda’s Ejo Cine.Ltd, Gabon’s Princesse M Prod, France’s Les Films du Bilboquet, and Norway’s Duo Film, with a cast almost entirely of non‑professional actors.
- Director Marie‑Clémentine Dusabejambo previously presented the project at Cannes’s La Fabrique Cinéma in 2022 and her earlier short Lyiza screened at the Tribeca Film Festival.
- Emmanuel Pisarra of Mk2 Films praised Dusabejambo’s “confidence of gaze” and ability to hold complexity, calling the film a “vision and heart” work.
- Deadline described the film as capturing how history lives on in the present through women rebuilding their lives, emphasizing its emotional reach.
Why it matters: The Cannes selection gives Rwandan cinema unprecedented global exposure, opening pathways for international sales and financing for director Marie‑Clémentine Dusabejambo and her team, while foregrounding women’s post‑genocide narratives and an African‑majority co‑production model that could inspire similar projects across the continent.
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