Rwanda, 1973. Veronica and Virginia are inseparable friends in an elite Catholic boarding school, Our Lady of the Nile. As Tutsis, they’re part of a small minority in a predominantly Hutu environment. Months before graduation, the students’ lives are rocked by the venomous atmosphere that clouds the country. What comes first, sisterhood or politics?
Adapted from the prize-winnning, semi-autobiographical novel by Scholastique Mukasonga, this was the third feature by Afghan director Atiq Rahmani (Earth and Ashes; The Patience Stone).
Screening in our African Cinema Now! series curated by the Akojo Collective.
Rahimi’s film is a heart-breaking look at the corruption of innocence: breathtaking cinematography and a sprightly jazz-infused score bring out how sweet that innocence was, so it’s all the more devastating to see it cruelly snatched away.
Orla Smith, Seventh Row
A beautiful and disturbing work of cinema.
Soraya Nadia McDonald, Andscape
Frightening… strangely captivating, this is an unusual history lesson shot with verve and laced with violence.
Lisa Nesselson, Screen Daily
Community Partner
UBC Africa Awareness Initiative
Atiq Rahimi
Amanda Santa Mugabekazi, Albina Sydney Kirenga, Malaika Uwamahoro, Clariella Bizimana, Belinda Rubango Simbi, Pascal Greggory
France/Belgium/Rawanda
2019
In French and Kinyarwanda with English subtitles
Book Tickets
Indigenous & Community Access
Indigenous Access Tickets Community Access Tickets Ticket Donation Requests
Credits
Screenwriter
Atiq Rahimi, Ramata Sy
Cinematography
Thierry Arbogast
Editor
Hervé de Luze
Also Playing
Possible Love
Lee Chang-dong’s first film since Burning (2018) is a sardonic, slow-burning satire about two couples: a documentary filmmaker married to a wealthy businessman, and a working-class family struggling to make ends meet after the husband has been laid off.
The Exorcist
Thirteen-year-old Linda Blair is Regan, the movie star daughter who is possessed by a demon, and whose body becomes a spiritual battleground. It builds slowly, carefully, into a maelstrom of sheer unadulterated horror.
La Bola Negra
A big, old-school historical melodrama gets a thrillingly modern, queer makeover from Spanish duo Javier Calvo and Javier Ambrossi, who artfully juggle three gay protagonists across stories set in 1932, 1937, and 2017. Winner: Best Director, Cannes. Screening on 35mm.
The History of Concrete
After attending a workshop on pitching saccharine Hallmark movies, John Wilson tries to apply all the same best practices to his documentary about concrete. Frequently absurd and endlessly entertaining detours, asides, and digressions ensue.