A few words about your artistic career
My journey as a filmmaker began in 2008 when I joined a group of young filmmakers from my neighbourhood in Kigali. In 2010, I responded to a call for entries for a script competition by the Tribeca Film Institute in New York, which I won and was able to make my first short film in 2011. I have a weakness for depicting everyday life and my work tries to make sense of the world. It is through the expression of happiness, pain, dreams and frustrations that I explore the dualities of life.
How long have you been an artist?
I've been an artist for about 11 years now.
Why did you apply for this scholarship? How will the scholarship support you?
When the coronavirus pandemic crisis began, I felt the need to tell the story as an African filmmaker, but above all as a human being living at a historic time that will mark the world and could even change it. It's an urgent documentary. I've been filming and documenting events since the beginning of the confinement without any funding. When I saw this grant launched by Africalia, I was at a point where I needed another support system to be able to bring this documentary film to life. This fund will help me to finalise production and post-production.
What are your concrete artistic objectives after this residency?
After this residency, I will continue to work on my first feature film development, which I was working on before the crisis. This crisis has shown us that despite the limits, we can still be creative.
What did you achieve during this creative residency? What is the result (work created)? Who was involved in the creative process?
During the creative residency, I was able to continue working on an idea for a documentary that I'd had when the global pandemic began. I was more interested in the psyche around the coronavirus. Thanks to the 'Creativity is Life' grant, I was able to finish shooting the footage, work on a thoughtful voice-over narration of the documentary, and I was also able to start the post-production process and now I'm coming out of the residency with a draft of the film.
How do you think these activities help us to think about the world today, in relation to the COVID-19 crisis, and/or about building for the future?
I think the subject of the documentary reflects the world today. Being able to work with other artists who needed work during this crisis gives a sense of care and value.
How did you feel during the residency? And afterwards?
During the residency, I was lucky enough to be able to cover some of the expenses of the project and also to bring other people on board, to share moments of reflection with them about what is happening now, which helped me to stay mentally strong and keep working on this work. Making a documentary film is a long journey and being able to receive this fund has helped me take a big step towards seeing what I want for the story and the quality of this documentary film.
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