Duhozanye: A Rwandan Village of Widows

A film by Karoline Frogner

Norway/Rwanda | 2011 | 52 minutes | Color | DVD | Kinyarwanda/Norwegian | Subtitled | Order No. 111034

SYNOPSIS

During the 1994 genocidal campaign that claimed the lives of an estimated 800,000 Rwandans and committed atrocities against countless others, Daphrose Mukarutamu, a Tutsi, lost her husband and all but two of her 11 children. In the aftermath she considered suicide. But instead, she took in 20 orphans and started Duhozanye, an association of Tutsi and Hutu widows who were married to Tutsi men. This powerful documentary by award-winning Norwegian director Karoline Frogner recounts the story of Duhozanye’s formation and growth - from a support group of neighbors who share their traumatic experiences, rebuild their homes, and collect and bury their dead, to an expanding member-driven network that advances the empowerment of Rwandan women. Featuring first-person accounts by Daphrose and other Duhozanye widows, the film shows association members helping women victims of rape and HIV/AIDS, running small businesses and classes in gender violence prevention, and taking part in national reconciliation through open-air people’s courts where they can face, and often forgive, their loved ones’ killers.

PRESS

“Suitable for mature high school classes and college courses in cultural anthropology, anthropology of war/genocide, political anthropology, anthropology of gender, and African studies, as well as for general audiences.”

David Eller Anthropology Review Database

ABOUT FILMMAKER(S)

Karoline Frogner

Born in 1961 in Oslo, Norway Karoline Frogner is a one of Norway’s most well known documentary filmmakers. She runs the Norwegian production company, Integrity Productions AS. Before her career in filmmaking, Frogner studied photography. Aside from filmmaking, Frogner is also a historian of Norwegian Jews during WWII. Her book: "Time of Darkness: Women's Encounters with Nazism" provides detailed interviews with women who survived the Ravensbruenk concentration camp. The subjects of Frogner's work usually deals with human rights, and her documentaries aim to reveal political controversies. (3/11)

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