Today, as the world commemorates the 20th anniversary of the start of the Rwandan genocide in which more than 800,000 people died over 100 days, Pan-African video-on-demand service Buni TV has released the acclaimed Rwandan film GREY MATTER (MATIERE GRISE) on its $5 a month premium service Buni+ to join friends and family to commemorate the day.
GREY MATTER, the first feature-length narrative film produced in Rwanda by a native Rwandan filmmaker tells the story of Balthazar, a young filmmaker struggling to get his first film, The Cycle of the Cockroach, off the ground. When funding falls apart Balthazar still pushes forward, and soon reality blurs and scenes from the film materialize.
In the film within the film, two siblings (played with precision and talent by Ruth Shanel Nirere and Ramadhan Shami Bizimana) grapple with codependency and post-traumatic stress disorder.
“GREY MATTER is not your typical Rwandan genocide film,” said Buni TV CEO Marie Lora-Mungai. “Rather than setting the story during the genocide itself, Kivu explores its long-term effects by taking us deep into a man’s mind. There are very few African films that explore psychology and mental illness, and this makes GREY MATTER a rare and precious film which should be on everyone’s must watch list.”
GREY MATTER is directed by Kivu Ruhorahoza.