A Sunday in Kigali

A Sunday in Kigali
A Sunday in Kigali
	Poster
Directed by	Robert Favreau
Written by	Robert Favreau (screenplay); Gil Courtemanche (original novel)
Produced by	Lyse Lafontaine and Michael Mosca
Starring	Luc Picard; Fatou N'Diaye;
Cinematography	Pierre Mignot
Edited by	Hélène Girard
Music by	Jorane
Release date	April 2006;
Running time	118 minutes
Country	Canada
Language	French
Budget	CAN $7,000,000

A Sunday in Kigali (original French title: Un dimanche à Kigali) is a 2006 Canadian feature film set during the Rwandan genocide. It is directed by Robert Favreau and based on the novel A Sunday at the Pool in Kigali by Gil Courtemanche.

Plot

Bernard Valcourt, a documentary filmmaker and journalist, sets off to Kigali to film a documentary about AIDS. He gets caught up in the turmoil of horrific events involving Hutus and Tutsis that tragically leads to genocide. During his stay at the Hôtel des Mille Collines, Valcourt falls in love with a beautiful, shy waitress named Gentille. Gentille serves drinks to the diplomats, officials, and Rwandan bourgeoisie who surround the hotel swimming pool every Sunday. While Valcourt's longing for Gentille increases, the country moves towards civil war, and the brutal violence of the Rwandan genocide separates them. A few months go by and Bernard returns to Rwanda, frantically seeking Gentille in the midst of the chaos. Most of the narrative unfolds in retrospect.^[1]

Release

A Sunday in Kigali grossed $1.1 million Canadian in Quebec in the fall of 2006, and is set for September 23 release in English-speaking Canada. Video and cable are the best options in other territories.^[2]

Cast

Luc Picard as Bernard Valcourt
Fatou N'Diaye as Gentille
Vincent Bilodeau as Father Cardinal
Céline Bonnier as Élise
Geneviève Brouillette as Consule
Alice Isimbi
Fayolle Jean as Victor
Maka Kotto as Manu
Louise Laparé as Manu's Wife
Alexis Martin as Lamarre
Luck Mervil as Raphaël
Mireille Metellus as Agathe
Luc Proulx as Father Louis
Guy Thauvette as Lt. Roméo Dallaire
Erwin Weche as D.J. Rock
Léonce Ngabo as Maurice
Jean-Chris Banange as Odeste
Natacha Muziramakenga as Emerita
Eric Kabanda as Cyprien
Amélie Chérubin Soulières as Mathilde
Jean de la Paix Hategekimana as Cyprien's cousin
Valentin Utaruhijimana as Célestin
Johanna Ingabiré as Désirée
Aline Muhora as Georgina
Jean Mutsari as Jean Damascène
Diane Nyiraparasi as Berthe

Reception

Box office

Eight weeks into its release, Robert Favreau's Rwandan genocide drama is the first Quebecois film of 2006 to pass the CAN $1m benchmark at the local box office.^[3]

Critical response

On Rotten Tomatoes, the film has an approval rate of 88% based on 59 reviews.^[4]

The sites' critical consensus reads, "A strident, well-meaning film that makes the mistake of doing all our thinking and feeling for us." Geoff Pevere give the film a 2 out of 4 rating, stating "here's something about the idea of weeping over a single love affair ... while hundreds of thousands are being slaughtered that verges on its own form of myopic irresponsibility." Writer for Variety Robert Koehler also gave it 2 out of 4 stars and said: "Pic is truly undone by a bizarre structure that constantly cuts between the timeframe before the 100-day massacre and the aftermath."^[5]

Accolades

Since its release, the film has been nominated for 42 festivals and awards.^[6]

Won: 2006 Marrakech International Film Festival – Best Actress (Fatou N'Diaye); 2007 Genie Awards – Best Screenplay, Adapted (Robert Favreau, Gil Courtemanche); 2007 Jutra Awards 2007 – Best Sound (Claude La Haye, Hans Peter Strobl & Marie-Claude Gagné)

Nominated: 2006 Marrakech International Film Festival - Golden Star (Robert Favreau); 2007 Genie Awards – Best Motion Picture (Lyse Lafontaine & Michael Mosca); 2007 Genie Awards – Best Achievement in Costume Design (Michèle Hamel); 2007 Genie Awards – Best Achievement in Direction (Robert Favreau); 2007 Genie Awards – Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role (Luc Picard); 2007 Genie Awards – Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role (Fatou N'Diaye); 2007 Genie Awards – Best Achievement in Overall Sound (Hans Peter Strobl, Jo Caron, Claude La Haye, Benoit Leduc, Bernard Gariépy Strobl); 2007 Genie Awards – Best Achievement in Sound Editing (Marie-Claude Gagné, Guy Francoeur, Claire Pochon, Jean-Philippe Savard); 2007 Jutra Awards 2007 – Best Film (Lyse Lafontaine & Michael Mosca)

More Festivals and Awards: ^[7]

Toronto International Film Festival (Canada): September 2006
Atlantic Film Festival (Canada): September 2006
Cinéfest Sudbury International Film Festival (Canada): September 2006
Vancouver International Film Festival (Canada): October 2006
Busan International Film Festival (South Korea): October 2006
Franzoesiche Filmtage, Tuebingen (Germany): November 2006
Festival des Films Francophone du Manitoba – Cinémental (Canada): November 2006
Festival International du Film Francophone de Tuebingen-Stuttgart (Germany): November 2006
Windsor International Film Festival (Canada): November 2006
Cape Town World Cinema Festival (South Africa): November 2006
Johannesburg Film Festival South Africa (South Africa): November 2006
Semaine du Cinéma Canadien (Senegal): November 2006
Festival du Québec à Paris (France): November 2006
Pan African Film Festival (USA): February 2007
Brazzaville Film Festival (Congo): 2007
Fédération des Francophones du Saskatoon (Canada): February 2007
Kalamazoo Francophone Film Festival (USA): March 2007
Maputo Film Festival (Mozambique): September 2007
Lusaka Film Festival (Zambia): November 2007
Alger Film Festival (Algeria): December 2007
Seattle Film Festival (USA): June/July 2007
Stony Brook Film Festival (USA): July 2007
Festival El Cine in Lima (Peru): August 2007
Les 25e Rendez-vous du Cinéma Québécois (Canada): February 2007
Bermuda International Film Festival (Bermuda): March 2007 – The 10th edition of the Bermuda International Film Festival came to a close when the French Canadian film "A Sunday in Kigali" won the Bacardi Limited Audience Choice Award.^[8]
Tiburon International Film Festival (USA): March 2007
Semaine de la Francophonie 2007, Boston Mars 2007 / Athènes Mars 2007 / New York Avril 2007
Phoenix Film Festival (USA): April 2007 – Peoples Choice & Best Feature Film
Kinshasa Film Festival (Congo): June 2007
FÉMI Festival International du Cinéma de la Guadeloupe (Guadeloupe): January 2007

References

^ "Un dimanche à Kigali/A Sunday in Kigali". The Canadian Encyclopedia. Retrieved March 23, 2018.
^ "A Sunday in Kigali". Variety. 20 September 2006. Retrieved March 23, 2018.
^ "Kigali crosses C$1m at Quebec box office for Equinoxe". Screen Daily. Retrieved March 25, 2018.
^ "Un Dimanche à Kigali (A Sunday in Kigali)". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved March 22, 2018.
^ "Sunday in Kigali". RottoMat. Archived from the original on March 28, 2018. Retrieved March 22, 2018.
^ "Un Dimanche à Kigali Awards". IMDb. Retrieved March 23, 2018.
^ "A Sunday in Kigali". Lyla Films. Retrieved March 24, 2018.
^ "Winners At The 10th Bermuda International Film Festival". Film Festivals. Retrieved March 25, 2018.

External links

A Sunday in Kigali at IMDb

[1] "Un dimanche à Kigali/A Sunday in Kigali". The Canadian Encyclopedia. Retrieved March 23, 2018.

[2] "A Sunday in Kigali". Variety. 20 September 2006. Retrieved March 23, 2018.

[3] "Kigali crosses C$1m at Quebec box office for Equinoxe". Screen Daily. Retrieved March 25, 2018.

[4] "Un Dimanche à Kigali (A Sunday in Kigali)". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved March 22, 2018.

[5] "Sunday in Kigali". RottoMat. Archived from the original on March 28, 2018. Retrieved March 22, 2018.

[6] "Un Dimanche à Kigali Awards". IMDb. Retrieved March 23, 2018.

[7] "A Sunday in Kigali". Lyla Films. Retrieved March 24, 2018.

[8] "Winners At The 10th Bermuda International Film Festival". Film Festivals. Retrieved March 25, 2018.

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