After the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi, foreign productions flooded Rwanda. These were mainly Hollywood films documenting the tragic events of the time. You could say that filmmaking in Rwanda truly began with the first international film produced by Rwanda, 100 Days.
That Eric Kabera-produced film marked the beginning of Rwanda’s independent film sector, which has now been growing slowly for at least 25 years. The industry has steadily expanded, with young and ambitious filmmakers making a name for themselves on the international stage.
Locally, the production landscape has been dominated by TV series and web content. Wilson Misago created the first TV series to air in Rwanda with the sitcom Inshuti (Friends) back in 2014. It debuted on TV10 and YouTube. Seburikoko and City Maid followed, both airing on National TV. The popularity of these projects paved the way for other producers to venture into serialized storytelling.
Today, new episodes of Rwandan series are uploaded on YouTube weekly, attracting thousands of global viewers. In 2022, Canal+ made a significant investment by acquiring ZACU TV, Rwanda’s first channel dedicated entirely to local films.
Rwandan film’s international success
Internationally, Rwandan films have made their biggest splash at film festivals, even as an acting talent like Eliane Umuhire has had a Hollywood debut, alongside Lupita Nyong’o and Djimon Hounsou, with A Quiet Place: Day One.
In 2011, Kivu Ruhorahoza became the first Rwandan filmmaker to direct a feature-length film that premiered at an international festival with Grey Matter, which debuted at the Tribeca Film Festival. Since then, many independent filmmakers have followed, pushing boundaries and telling uniquely Rwandan stories.
This year, Sharangabo Aimé Mbabazi Philbert’s debut feature, Minimals in a Titanic World, premiered at the Berlin Film Festival’s Forum section, marking an important milestone for Rwandan cinema. But it wasn’t the first time a Rwandan film had been screened at one of the world’s Big 3 festivals. Berlin in particular has been receptive to Rwandan film.
Myriam Birara’s debut feature, 2023’s The Bride, also premiered at the Berlinale Forum, where it received a s special mention during the awards ceremony. Ruhorahoza’s Father’s Day screened at Berlin’s Encounters section in 2022. And Ishimwe Samuel was the winner of a short film Silver Bear with Imfura in 2017.
On the continent, Rwanda has also recorded successes. This year, films from Rwanda (including my new picture Phiona, A Girl From Madrid) were screened at FESPACO across various categories. Over the years, Rwandan films have won awards at the festival, the highest point, perhaps, coming in 2019, when Joel Karekezi’s The Mercy of the Jungle won the Golden Stallion.
The Challenges of the Rwanda film industry
Despite these achievements, my country’s relatively young industry faces many challenges. There is a lack of local funding to make films. And technical skills, equipment, and facilities are hard to come by. To shoot in Rwanda, many production outfits often hire equipment and technicians from Kenya, a situation that prevents the development of local talent.
There are signs that things may get better in the Rwandan film industry, that certain partnerships will bring improvement.
One recent development in this area is the Rwanda Development Board’s launching of the Rwanda Film Office (RFO) to support the industry. Agreements were signed with European organisations, including Germany’s business-vehicle, GIZ, and the French establishment Organisation Internationale de la Francophonie (OIF).
These agreements were intended to boost and support the development of Rwandan film through some funding. The results have been unideal. The support has proven insufficient. As I write this, many Rwandan filmmakers still seek external funds and co-productions to produce their films. This is a situation that often leads to delays and/or budgetary constraints.
I say this from stories I have heard from fellow filmmakers. I say this, too, from personal experience. According to my team’s production plans, Phiona is a project that should have premiered in 2023. As I said, the film premiered only weeks ago at the 2025 FESPACO.
Challenges with funding and technical expertise enforced a two-year delay. So, while the Rwandan film industry has come a long way in just over two decades, starting with Kabera’s 100 Days, there is a lot to be done. The industry clearly has potential as, already, its filmmakers have made projects that have thrived across the continent and showed up at some of the biggest global venues for film. Just imagine what they—we—would do with the right support and investment.
Mutiganda Wa Nkunda is the director of Phiona, A Girl From Madrid and Nameless. The latter won Best Screenplay at FESPACO 2021.
