6 Best Movies from Rwanda to Watch First

6 Essential Films from Rwanda

Ranked native cinema in Rwanda’s own creative voice.

1. 

   1. The Mercy of the Jungle

   La Miséricorde de la jungle · 2018

   At the start of the Second Congo War, two Rwandan soldiers separated from their unit must survive together in the vast, hostile jungle, an old veteran and a green recruit bound by their fight to stay alive. A gripping war drama.

2. 

   2. Imbabazi: The Pardon

   Imbabazi · 2013

   After years in prison for killings he committed during the Rwandan genocide, a man is released to face the man whose family he murdered — his own former best friend — and the wrenching possibility of forgiveness. A drama of guilt and reconciliation.

3. 

   3. Nameless

   2021

   Inspired by a senseless crime, this Rwandan drama follows its characters through the aftermath of violence and the search for meaning and justice. An award-winning debut.

4. 

   4. Behind This Convent

   2008

   In this documentary, a Rwandan filmmaker returns to the site where his own family was slaughtered during the genocide, confronting the killers and the unbearable weight of memory. A personal reckoning.

5. K

   5. Keepers of Memory

   2004

   This documentary gathers the testimonies of survivors and the caretakers of memorial sites in Rwanda, bearing witness to the trauma and enduring aftermath of the 1994 genocide. A somber record.

6. 

   6. Father's Day

   2022

   Three loosely connected stories in present-day Rwanda explore fatherhood and loss: a mother grieving her son, a young woman nursing the father she never loved, and a petty criminal grooming his boy for a hard life. A somber, layered drama.