Posted By: Jeff.. On 2/27/2007

IFC Films - Beyond The Gates - Exclusive Clip

Beyond the Gates (A.K.A Shooting Dogs), presented by IFC Films and a co-production of BBC Films and the UK Film Council, was directed by Michael Caton-Jones and shot entirely on location in and around Kigali using a variety of local resources. The film is based on the true story of a priest who offered refuge for 2,500 Rwandans during the 1994 genocide at the Ecole Technique Officielle, a catholic school that also acted as a base for the UN. Seen from a European perspective, the film highlights the West’s refusal to intervene – including continued denials that the occurrences in Rwanda did not qualify as “genocide” – and subsequent abandonment of the Rwandan people.

Posted By: Jeff.. On 2/27/2007

The Man Behind the Story

David Belton, a producer on Beyond the Gates, also co-wrote the original story for the film, inspired by his own experiences in Rwanda as a correspondent for the BBC’s Current Affairs program, Newsnight.

For several days in 1994 Belton and his team were sheltered at the Ecole Technique Officielle by Bosnian priest Vjeko Curic, who was one of only two non-African priests who stayed in Rwanda throughout the genocide and became the inspiration for Father Christopher’ character. On several occasions Curic protected the Newsnight team from the extremist Hutu government, which was becoming increasingly suspicious of their presence. Curic also saved countless Rwandan lives by secretly ferrying refugees out of the country.

For Belton, the true account of Curic’s school - a school run by priests and home to a company of Belgian UN Para-commandos mandated to monitor the peace, but not enforce it - best represented the story of the Rwandan genocide. On April 7th 1994, once the genocide began, the ETO became a place of refuge for 2,500 Tutsis and moderate Hutus. After five days, the UN left, abandoning the Rwandan refugees, most of whom were slaughtered within hours.

As the genocide began, the governments of America and the United Kingdom actively lobbied the Security Council to ensure that no further UN forces were sent to Rwanda and for more than a month refused to call it genocide for fear that they would then be obliged to intervene.

“Against that were people like Vjeko Curic. People who stayed and did make a stand”


“In a sense, the whole Rwandan genocide was about failure and I wanted to focus on that. I felt I had failed as a journalist. Certainly I knew of others who felt the same way – teachers who had left, diplomats who had run, UN soldiers who had been ordered out, NGO workers who had got on the first plane out of there – leaving behind their Rwandan friends, many of whom were killed,” says Belton. It was that sense of leaving, of running away, that Belton wanted to focus on when he and a fellow documentary maker, Richard Alwyn, embarked on writing a story for film about the events of 1994.

Posted By: Jeff.. On 2/27/2007

The Local Connection

The film was shot on location in at the Ecole Technique Officielle and other locations in and around Kigali. During their eight weeks there, European crewmembers grew close to the Rwandans. Gaffer Mickey Reeves stopped paying the hotel for his laundry and paid the wife of his Rwandan assistant to do it instead. Another crewmember started a drug and alcohol dependency group that he ran on his days off.

The modest budget meant that equipment had to be sourced locally. Trucks were scrounged from old garages or scrap yards. The firearm props used were real weapons, though they had been disabled and some extras were given belts of live ammunition to carry around in several scenes.

Local human resources were also exploited. Rwandan soldiers played extras in the large refugee scenes and local western expatriates – including, for one day, most of the staff of the British High Commission – took on the roles of the Belgian Soldiers. Others involved were survivors of the genocide. Karasira Venuste, consultant and actor in Beyond the Gates, had taken refuge at the school. Jean-Pierre Sagahutu, the crew’s transport captain hid in a cesspit for fourteen weeks in 1994. Another Rwandan crew member was raped and subsequently infected with HIV during the genocide

BBC Films and Film Finances have generously donated £17,000 to the "ETO Fund". So far, the money has been used to build a computer laboratory, refurbish the toilet facilities, renovate the main school hall and provide the teaching faculty with a projector and screen, which will be installed in time to show the film there in Spring 2006.

Posted By: Jeff.. On 2/27/2007

The Characters, Story, and Viewpoint

Joe Connor, played by Hugh Dancy, is a young, upper-class idealist “trying to make a difference” in Rwanda and has only been there a few weeks when the genocide breaks out. His character is not based on an individual, but is a combination of several people that writers Belton and Alwyn had known during their own, separate journeys through Africa – part NGO worker, part teacher, part GAP year student. As he watches the genocide unfold, Joe is shocked and dumbfounded not only by the sudden violent hatred between the Hutus and the Tutsis, but also by the refusal of the rest of the world to intervene. Determined to do something, he is repeatedly frustrated by his inability to help.

Bosnian priest Vjeko Curic, who was one of only two non-African priests that stayed in Rwanda throughout the genocide, was the inspiration for the character of Father Christopher (John Hurt). After having lived and worked as a Catholic priest in Africa for 30 years, Father Christopher has become jaded about his work in Rwanda, seemingly wondering if he isn’t, like Africans at one of his Catholic ceremonies, just “going through the motions.”

Capitaine Delarme (Dominique Horwitz) is the head of the Belgian UN unit based at the Ecole Technique Officielle. A typical soldier, Delarme adheres rigidly to the UN rules of engagement, which specify that they cannot fire unless fired upon, even when crowds of angry Hutus wait eagerly beyond the gates to murder the innocent Tutsis sheltered at the school.

As the situation in Kigali worsens, Joe, Father Christopher and Capitaine Delarme are constantly forced to reassess their roles in Rwanda. The conflict between the three men and how they handle the violent and senseless situation into which they have been thrown are representative of the conflict going on not only within themselves, but also beyond the gates of the ETO. Each of them must question their own ideals and priorities as they are challenged to make increasingly difficult decisions that will affect the lives of 2,500 Rwandans as well as their own. What binds the three together is their shared horror at the situation, intrinsic needs to help the Rwandans, and frustration with the increasing futility of their efforts.

Writer/producer David Belton chose to tell the story from a European perspective because, in his own words: “I didn’t feel qualified to write a story from a specifically Rwandan perspective. The white man’s role in Rwanda is so integral to what happened there in 1994.” This viewpoint is also integral to the film, because it allows the Western audience to identify more deeply with the story, forcing them to ask themselves the question, “what would I do?” or, perhaps, more importantly, “what would I have done?” At different points in the story, every viewer will be able to relate to each of the characters of Joe Connor, Father Christopher, and Capitaine Delarme, whether it be for Joe’s naïve optimism, Christopher’s religious cynicism, or Delarme’s respect for rules and order.

Posted By: Jeff.. On 2/27/2007

Rwanda Timeline

Rwanda Timeline

Early history

1800s Tutsi King Kigeri Rwabugiri establishes a unified state comprising the three ethnic groups: Hutu (85% of population), Tutsi (13%) and Twa (2%).

1885 At the Berlin Conference of European Powers, Germany is given control of the area that includes Rwanda.

Colonial past

1923 Belgium takes over the country but relies on the traditional Tutsi monarchy to administrate.

1926 The Belgians introduce ethnic identity cards for Hutu, Tutsi and Twa.

1957 Publication of Hutu Manifesto, which denounces the Tutsis who currently dominate the Rwandan leadership. The PARMEHUTU (Party for the Emancipation of the Hutus) is formed.

1959 The king of Rwanda dies and the Hutus rise up against the Tutsi nobility. Thousands of Tutsis are killed in interethnic violence; thousands more flee to neighbouring countries. The Belgians switch their support to the Hutus.

1962 Rwanda is granted independence from Belgium. George Kayibanda of the PARMEHUTU Hutu nationalist party comes to power.

Independence – a Hutu state

1963 Tutsis refugees from 1959 attack Rwanda from neighbouring countries. 20,000 Tutsis are killed by Hutus in retaliation.

1973 Hutu government forces Tutsis from jobs in schools and universities. In a coup, Juvenal Habyarimana takes power and creates a one party state. Ethnic quotas are introduced into the public services. Tutsis are only allowed 9% of available jobs.

1975 –1989 Rwandan refugees in neighbouring states are not allowed to return home. The rebel RPF (Rwandan Patriotic Front) is formed in Uganda.

1989 International price of coffee collapses, causing severe economic hardship to Rwandan farmers.

Lead up to genocide

1990 Pressure from abroad over aid and treatment of the minority Tutsi forces Habyarimana to agree to the principle of a multi-party democracy.

1990 – 1992 The Rwandan Army creates and trains civilian militias, made up of only Hutus, known as the Interahamwe (‘Those who stand together’). The Tutsi RPF invades northern Rwanda from Uganda. In reprisals across the country, Hutu militias slaughter thousands of civilian Tutsis. The Hutu government begins to buy arms from abroad.

1992

February Tutsis are murdered and human rights groups blame Rwandan radio for inciting hatred.

November Leading Hutu activist Dr Leon Mugusera tells Hutus to ‘send the Tutsis back to Ethiopia via the rivers’.

1993

February The RPF attacks the Rwandan border and French troops are called in to help President Habyarimana‘s forces. Fighting continues and peace negotiations start.

August At Arusha in Tanzania, accords are signed which include agreements on multi-party elections and integration of the RPF into the Rwandan army. UN agrees to send in a force of 2,500 troops to monitor the peace accords. UNAMIR, (United Nations Assistance Mission for Rwanda) is commanded by Canadian General, Romeo Dallaire, and includes 450 elite Belgian Para commandos.

August - Dec Delays are created on formation of new government, whilst the training of the extremist, “interahamwe” militias intensifies. Radio Mille Collines, an extremist radio station broadcasts messages of hate against the Tutsis.

1994

January - March Tension rises and Human Rights agencies warn the international community of the likelihood of violence. The Belgian ambassador warns his government in Brussels of the danger of Radio Mille Collines. Dallaire informs UN headquarters that Hutu extremists in government are planning ‘a genocide’ against the Tutsis. His request to investigate further is turned down by the UN in New York.

April 6 Habyarimana and the president of Burundi are assassinated when their plane is shot down over Kigali on their return from peace talks in Arusha.

Genocide

April 7 1994 Systematic killings begin of opposition politicians, pro-democracy Hutu and Tutsi. Hutu government forces kill ten Belgian peacekeepers. Hate radio blames the Belgian forces and the RPF for killing the President. Armed Hutu militias begin to round up Tutsis and kill them. The RPF launch a counter-attack against the Rwandan Army.

April 9 Large-scale massacres begin. The Security Council prevents UN peacekeepers from acting. Belgium begins to actively lobby the UN Security Council for a withdrawal of UN forces.

April 11 – 21 France and Italy send troops to Rwanda to evacuate their nationals. Most Western Embassies are abandoned.

April 25 Most UN troops have been evacuated. From a force of 2,500, just 503 remain.

April 27 Estimates vary but as many as 250,000 Rwandans are believed to have been killed.

April 28 Oxfam describes the events in Rwanda as genocide.

April 28 The US refuses to use the term genocide, warning the Security Council that to do so would impel the UN to intervene.

May 17 UN Security Council agrees to send 5,500 troops into Rwanda, but no action is taken after a disagreement over cost of the operation.

May 24 US State Department instructs spokesperson to describe “acts of genocide” taking place in Rwanda.

July The Rwandan army is defeated by the RPF. It flees to Zaire (Congo) with more than a million Hutu, including the extremist militias. A cholera epidemic kills thousands in the refugee camps. Thousands of those in the militias flee to the French zones, in other areas some Tutsi are still being killed.

July 19 A new government of national unity is formed. Compulsory ID cards are scrapped.

November The UN establishes the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR).

Rwanda Today

2001 Voting to elect members of traditional "gacaca" courts begins. The courts - in which ordinary Rwandans judge their peers - aim to clear the backlog of 1994 genocide cases.

2003 Paul Kagame claims a landslide victory in the first presidential elections since the 1994 genocide.

2003 First multi-party parliamentary elections; President Kagame's Rwandan Patriotic Front wins absolute majority.

2005 Government begins the mass release of 36,000 prisoners. Most of them have confessed to involvement in the 1994 genocide. It is the third phase of releases since 2003 and part of an attempt to ease overcrowding in prisons.

Posted By: Jeff.. On 2/26/2007

Beyond the Gates - Trailer

IFC films sent us an "exclusive clip" of the film "Beyond the Gates" they asked us to post it to help them promote the film, they also sent us a "pre-screened" DVD of the movie, so that a review can be attached.

The review along with the "exclusive clip" will be posted on March 1st if you care to take a peek. In the meantime you can check the related links that I have been scrounging up off the Internet.



Synopsis

Joe Connor has come to teach in Rwanda because he believes he can make a difference. When the school becomes a haven for thousands of Rwandans fleeing the genocide, Joe promises his brightest pupil, Marie, that the UN soldiers will protect her from the hordes of extremist militia baying for blood outside the school. But when the UN abandon the refugees, Joe and the school's headmaster, Father Christopher, face an agonizing dilemma: should they leave or should they stand firm with the Rwandans. As the UN trucks force their way through the terrified refugees, Joe stares at the tear-stained face of Marie: what should he do?

What would you do?

Based on real events and filmed at the actual location where this story took place, Beyond the Gates is directed by Michael Caton-Jones and stars John Hurt and Hugh Dancy. It is an emotionally gripping, authentic and powerful recreation of a tragic real life story that took place during the Rwandan genocide in 1994.