Rwanda Enters Oscars Race for First Time With Cannes Winner Ben'Imana
Rwanda has entered the Academy Awards race for the first time.
The country has put forward Ben'Imana, the debut feature from director Marie-Clementine Dusabejambo, for consideration in the international feature category at the 99th Academy Awards, Variety reported on 8 October. The category honours films made outside the United States.
The film centres on Vénéranda, a survivor who leads dialogue between victims and the families of perpetrators to help rebuild lives, according to the Cannes Film Festival listing. It unfolds in the shadow of the 1994 Rwandan genocide, a history the story approaches through the question of forgiveness, BFI notes.
Dusabejambo wrote the film with Delphine Agut. It stars Isabelle Kabano alongside newcomers Clementine U. Nyirinkindi and Kesia Kelly Nishimwe, with cinematography by Mostafa El Kashef and an original score by Rwandan singer-songwriter Igor Mabano.
It was shot entirely in Rwanda with a primarily Rwandan crew. The production is a majority co-production between Rwanda and Gabon, with minority support from France, Norway and Côte d'Ivoire.
The festival path has been fast. Ben'Imana premiered in Un Certain Regard, Cannes's sidebar for original work, and took two prizes: the Caméra d'Or, given to the best first film across the festival, and the Fipresci prize from international critics. Cannes said the Caméra d'Or was chosen from among 29 films and presented during the closing ceremony of the 79th festival by actor-filmmaker Monia Chokri.
It was also Rwanda's first film ever selected for Cannes, Deadline reported in May. From there it made its North American debut at the Toronto Film Festival and was scheduled to screen at the London Film Festival.
What makes this stand out is the calendar. A first-time entry gets Rwanda into the long conversation that runs from autumn festivals into awards season, when national committees submit one film each for the Academy to consider.
Distribution is already set. MK2 is handling world sales, the business of licensing the film territory by territory. The film is scheduled for release in U.K. theatres on 19 Feb. 2027, with a U.S. release in March through Alexander, a newly launched distribution arm founded by producer Cameron Lamb. Deadline reported that Alexander acquired the film and plans to stream it exclusively after its cinema run.
