OUR LADY OF THE NILE
O.V. in French subtitled in English and Spanish
Rwanda, 1973. The Belgian Catholic boarding school of Our Lady of the Nile, located in the mountains, is where the country's elite are educated: the daughters of politicians, businessmen and upper-class families. Even though they share the same dreams and desires as teenagers, a succession of conflicts soon leads to growing tensions in the school between Tutsi and Hutu girls. This film, winner of a Crystal Bear in Berlin, combines the qualities of an initiation story with an enlightening vision of the 1994 Rwandan Genocide in an adaptation of Scholastique's Mukasonga.
Direction: Atiq Rahimi
Script: Atiq Rahimi, Ramata Toulaye-Sy
Cinematography: Thierry Arbogast
Editing: Hervé de Luze, Jacqueline Mariani
Sound: Dana Farzaneh Pour, Ingrid Ralet, Etienne Curchod, Mathieu Cox
Cast: Amanda Mugabekazi, Albina Kirenga, Pascal Greggory
Production: Dimitri Rassam, Charlotte Casiraghi, Marie Legrand et Rani Massalha
Production Company: Chapter 2, Les Films du Tambour
Atiq Rahimi
Atiq Rahimi is a novelist and filmmaker. His first feature, Earth and Ashes, co-authored with Iranian filmmaker Kambuzia Partovi, was presented in the Un Certain Regard section at the 2004 Cannes Film Festival where it was awarded the Prix du Regard vers l’Avenir. Syngué Sabour: The Patience Stone, his first novel written directly in French, won the Prix Goncourt in 2008. In 2011, he adapted it into a screenplay with French author and screenwriter Jean-Claude Carrière. The movie, which he also directed, world-premiered at Toronto and went on to enjoy widespread public acclaim when it was released in 2013. Notably, it showcased actress Golshifteh Farahani who received a César nomination for her performance. Our Lady of The Nile, his third feature film, premiered in Toronto.