BBC Films and UK Film Council presents Shooting Dogs, a true story based on the 1994 genocide that happened in Rwanda, directed by Michael Caton-Jones, written by David Wolstencroft, and co-written by BBC journalist David Belton, who was working in Rwanda at the time.
At a Kigali school in Rwanda, Joe Connor (Hugh Dancy), an enthusiastic young British man, teaches students alongside Father Christopher (John Hurt), the head of the school.
Following the death of the president of Rwanda, a Hutu, tension between Tutsis and Hutus escalated into genocide. Soon the school becomes a haven for Europeans and Tutsis.
Later on Joe and Father Christopher face faith challenging moments, with an open choice to either evacuate safely with the Europeans, or to stay with the Rwandans who were abandoned to their fate. Meanwhile, Marie (Claire Hope Ashitey), a beloved student of the school, constantly challenges the extent of love and sacrifice of Joe and Father Christopher.
Between May and July, about 800,000 Rwandan Tutsis were massacred by their fellow Hutu countrymen. Although the UN was there, there was no action to stop this unimaginable barbarity from happening.
Many of the Rwandan cast and crew were survivors of the genocide. In addition to preserving the realness of the story, film-makers used the actual locations and hand-held cameras for the movie.
Shooting Dogs will premiere on the 31st of March, 2006.
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Shooting Dogs Blogspot
Rwandan Survivors Blogspot
