 BC presents Hotel Rwanda
The British Council presents the film Hotel Rwanda on Wednesday February 1 at 7 p.m. at the British Council, 737 Anna Salai, Chennai 600 002. Passes for the event are available at the British Council.
Ten years ago, some of the worst atrocities in the history of mankind took place in the country of Rwanda - and in an era of high-speed communication and round-the-clock news, the events went almost unnoticed by the rest of the world. In only three months, one million people were brutally murdered. In the face of these unspeakable actions, inspired by his love for his family, an ordinary man summons extraordinary courage to save the lives of over a thousand helpless refugees, by granting them shelter in the hotel he manages.
Nominated for three Academy Awards and with a star cast of Don Cheadle, Sophie Okonedo and Nick Nolte, Hotel Rwanda is a true story of one man's brave stance against savagery during the 1994 Rwandan conflict.
As his country descends into madness, five star hotel manager Paul Rusesabagina (Cheadle) sets out to save his family. But when he sees that the world will not intervene in the massacre of the minority Tutsis, he finds the courage to open his hotel to over 1,200 refugees. Now, with rabid militia at the gates, he has only his wits and words to help keep them alive another hour, another day.
Terry George, the director, of the film said, "Three years ago, Keir Peirson and I sat around a table with Paul Rusesabagina and listened as he told us his story. As he spoke, I did my best to hide two conflicting emotions: excitement and fear. Excitement because it was a perfect story to be told on film - a riveting political thriller, a deeply moving romance, and, most of all, a universal story of the triumph of a good man over evil. But fear was my predominant emotion. Fear of failure.
"This was a story that had to be told, a story that would take cinema-goers around the world inside an event that, to all our great shame, we knew nothing about. But more than that, it would allow audiences to join in the love, the loss, the fear and the courage of a man who could have been any of us - if we ever could find that courage. I knew if we got this story right and got it made, it would have audiences from Peoria to Pretoria cheering for a real African hero who fought to save lives in a hell we would not dare to invent."
"It was a very scary challenge for all of us involved with Hotel Rwanda, but that same challenge seemed to invigorate everyone who worked on the film, from our great cast and crew to the extras who rose at dawn in Johannesburg's townships of Alexandra and Tembisi to join us in telling this enormous story. I'm proud of everyone who worked on this film and honoured to have had the chance to tell the story of Paul, Tatiana, their family, and the people of Rwanda. I only hope to have done his heroic deeds justice," George added.
R Rangaraj |
