Gacaca living together again in Rwanda?
by Anne Aghion;  Philip Brooks;  Laurent Bocahut;  Mathieu Hagnery;  James Kakwerere;  Nadia Ben Rachid;  Dominant 7 (Firm);  Gacaca Productions.;  Planète (Firm);  First Run/Icarus Films. VHS 55 minutes

In Rwanda we say: the family that does not speak dies.  Gacaca Productions & Dominant 7 in association with NDR/ARTE; a film by Anne Aghion. (First Run/Icarus Films, 2004). VHS 54 minutes


In 2002, the Rwandan government resurrected a traditional conflict resolution process known as gacaca to process some of the more than 100,000 offenders jailed for the 1994 genocide. The gacaca courts are local, open-air tribunals where individuals elected by community members preside as decision makers. These two films, Gacaca: Living Together in Rwanda? and In Rwanda We Say…The Family That Does Not Speak Dies tell the story of preparations for these tribunals and the anxiety and myriad of emotions experienced by community members as the gacaca process begins.

Gacaca: Living Together in Rwanda? opens with two men talking about the need to punish those who have killed. It follows efforts of the Ministry of Justice to introduce the gacaca process to the suspects being held in prison and to community members. It shows prisoners being presented to their community, giving opportunity for community members to denounce or speak for individual suspects. These statements are recorded in an effort to gather as much information as possible and to exonerate innocent suspects. Along with these meetings in the community, the film captures Ministry of Justice personnel taking down confessions from offenders in prison.

Because individual Rwandans tell their stories, Gacaca: Living Together in Rwanda opens a window to the horror, pain, and continued suffering experienced in the country. It also explores the meaning of justice, the need for truth telling, and the difficulty of achieving reconciliation and rebuilding the country.

In Rwanda We Say…The Family That Does Not Speak Dies follows a genocide offender as he is conditionally released into his community. Through interviews with the offender and survivors, the documentary shows the anger, pain, and unease felt by community members, even though the community – from lectures in the local school to discussions at the local bar – is filled with the rhetoric of the need to build a new Rwanda and work towards reconciliation.

This documentary also shows the strong emotions and effects of trauma still being felt by victims. Women who lost their husbands and many of their children express anger that the offender is now able to rejoin his family. One woman recounts her experience of meeting the man who is accused of killing her husband. In talking about his freedom, she describes how she continues to suffer from the genocide, including the disrepair of her house. In this monologue, the woman asks why the offender is not required to repair her home and provide other services to make amends.

One telling scene takes place in a local cantina. A woman whose husband was killed in the genocide and the released offender are seated on a bench. In silence, they face forward not looking at each other. Eventually he tries to break the ice by asking whether or not she planted beans the year before. Another woman joins them to share a drink with her friend. More strained conversation follows. As they are joined by more people, the group begins to talk of the genocide. A woman tells of her loss. The offender talks about responding to a call from those in power and being jailed for nothing. The response is one of disbelief and he is challenged to admit the truth, to talk about his involvement.

One woman angrily says that she would challenge the offender to speak the truth if he visited her house. A man speaks about the need for reconciliation so that when they meet each other in the streets they are able to greet one another. An older women, whose family was killed in the genocide, speaks of the offender as a child of the community, one of them. The emotions remain, but there is also a realization of the need to speak truth and find ways to work together.

Together, these two films tell the human story of atrocity and the need for healing. While many of those interviewed expressed outrage or concern about the gacaca process, others hoped that the process will reveal the truth and bring healing. Only time will tell.

Both films have English subtitles.

Video copies are available for purchase ($390) and rental (Gacaca $75; In Rwanda $100) from:
First Run/Icarus Films
Phone: 800-876-1710
Fax: 718-488-8642
E-mail: mailroom@frif.com
Web: frif.com