reviews
Reviews and Articles about Massacre at Murambi
"What were you doing in April 1994? While world powers debated the hot-button word "genocide," massacres that would eventually claim 1 million lives were spreading throughout Rwanda. In an international community where political and business leaders use the words "Global Village" and "Genocide" to suit their agendas, Massacre at Murambi forces the viewer to think about what these words really mean, the politics and racism behind them, and demands action, not rhetoric, from the global village. Short and succinct with beautiful, simple photography that drives home the brutality of the massacre, the film ends on the haunting note that rhetoric again trumps action in Darfur."
- Casey Suchan, Programmer, Slamdance Film Festival
Campus Progress
By Zach Marks, Yale University
This year's Media That Matters festival has 16 short features on a range of hot topics from immigration to the environment to anti-war activism. But these films do more than just educate their audience on important issues; they inspire viewers to take action. That's why Campus Progress is hosting the Washington, D.C. premiere of the Media That Matters Film Festival on Wednesday, June 18--to remind our generation that movies aren't just about having a good time for a few hours; they're about having an impact on issues that matter.
Here's a sneak peek at three of our favorites from this year's festival:
"Massacre at Murambi"
Sam Kauffman, Director and Producer
The most gripping film in this year's Media That Matters Festival is easily Massacre at Murambi. It will make you shiver and leave you speechless.
"We begin with a lie," the narrator opens. "We love our neighbors. Liberty, Equality, Fraternity. These are all beautiful words." She asks us where we were on April 21, 1994. "You were of course very busy," she says as scenes of college students heading to class and businesspeople strolling through an airport flash by. That was the day thousands of Tutsi in Murambi were told by the town's mayor and head bishop to hide from the Interahamwe at a newly-built school.
"But it was a trap," the narrator reveals. "A planned massacre."
Interahamwe militiamen used machetes, lances, and automatic rifles to kill 50,000 defenseless men, women, and children. Kauffman's dimly lit and slow moving cinematography complements the eerie soundtrack and riveting narration perfectly. As the camera pans across skulls of Murambi victims to bone-chilling background music, the narrator muses, "It has been said that if they were white we would have intervened in Rwanda." Then a shot appears of stacked bodies that have been preserved and bleached with lime so their hair, flesh and muscle remain. The narrator continues: "Well, they're white now."
But Kauffman's goal is not to dwell on the international community's inaction during the Rwandan genocide. He's calling for action on the genocide in Darfur. There is a brief moment of optimism that "this time we will do more than talk," now that politicians, the media, religious institutions, and other organizations have devoted significant resources to calling for an end to the genocide. Then the narrator says doubtfully, "And so we end this story as we began it. With a lie."
MovieMaker Magazine
Festival Beat
by MovieMaker Staff | Published October 30, 2008
10 or Less Film Festival _LESS IS MORE IN THE PACIFIC NORTHWEST
Everyone clamors for their 15 minutes of fame--whether that's a quick wave in the background of a local news report or accepting an award on stage at the Kodak Theatre. But "because 15 minutes of fame is too much," independent moviemakers can find a happy medium at the 10 or Less Film Festival, which ran at Oregon's Hollywood Theatre.
You can probably guess the festival's clever premise: Showcase films that have a running time of 10 minutes or less. "I was excited to be part of a festival where the audience wasn't sitting through a short to get to the feature film," says Best in the Fest and Best Documentary winner Sam Kauffmann. "This audience was excited to see tight, well-made short films." Kauffmann's short, Massacre at Murambi, won the $1,000 grand prize and is "an absolute must-see," raves festival producer John Denlinger.
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Massacre at Murambi, 2007