Rwanda makes first Oscar entry with Cannes winner Ben'Imana
Rwanda has entered the Academy Awards for the first time. The country has selected Ben'Imana, directed by Marie-Clémentine Dusabejambo, as its submission for Best International Feature, the Oscar category for films made outside the United States, Deadline reported on 10 October 2026.
The submission follows two firsts at Cannes. Ben'Imana became the first Rwandan feature accepted into the festival's official selection. Dusabejambo then won the Camera d'Or, the prize awarded to the best debut feature across the festival.
That win came from a field of 29 eligible films. The prize was presented by Monia Chokri to Dusabejambo during the Closing Ceremony of the 79th Festival de Cannes, according to the festival's awards record Festival de Cannes.
The film is listed by Cannes as a 2025 production. It is set in 2012, 18 years after the genocide against the Tutsi, in a Rwandan village living with reconciliation.
Dusabejambo spoke about that history in London. She was seven years old at the time of the genocide against the Tutsi. She studied mathematics and physics before turning to cinema, and said the idea for Ben'Imana came after her second short film in 2013.
The feature was made with a mostly non-professional cast and a 100% Rwandan team. It is a small unit by design. The cast came from outside the professional industry.
After Cannes, the film travelled to Toronto. It was included in the TIFF 2026 Centrepiece lineup as an international premiere of a Cannes title, Deadline reported on 4 August 2026. Dusabejambo was later listed as Writer/Director for Ben'Imana in the Contenders Film: London 2026 lineup, where she discussed directing the film.
What makes this stand out is the chain. A maths and physics student becomes a short-film director. A village story shot with newcomers reaches Cannes. Now that same film carries Rwanda's first entry into the Oscar race.
