Could you forgive the person who murdered your family?
This is the question faced by the subjects of As We Forgive, an award-winning documentary about two Rwandan women coming face-to-face with the men who slaughtered their families during the 1994 genocide.
FORGIVENESS & RECONCILIATION
But can it be done? Can survivors truly forgive the killers who destroyed their families? Can the government expect this from its people? And can the church, which failed at moral leadership during the genocide, fit into the process of reconciliation today? In this moving documentary director Laura Waters Hinson and narrator Mia Farrow explore the topics of forgiveness and reconciliation through the lives of four neighbors once caught in opposite tides of a genocidal bloodbath, and their extraordinary journey from death to life through forgiveness.
TWO NIGHTS ONLY
April 2nd 7pm Durham Duke Divinity School Westbrook 0012 (Parking @ the Bryan Center)
For directions to Duke Divinity School click here.
APRIL 3rd 7pm Chapel Hill Extraordinary Ventures Conference Space 200 S. Elliot Rd
For direction to Extraordinary Ventures Conference Space click here.
Both screenings will be followed by a panel discussion
where audience questions and interaction will be encouraged.
THIS IS A PUBLIC EVENT & ADMISSION IS FREE
Film Synopsis
Could you forgive a person who murdered your family? This is the question faced by the subjects of As We Forgive, an award-winning documentary about two Rwandan women coming face-to-face with the men who slaughtered their families during the 1994 genocide.
Viewers meet Rosaria, a widow whose merciful spirit defies reason. In 1994, Rosaria was left with only the child in her womb, as her family and possessions were systematically destroyed during the genocide. A decade later, Saveri, the neighbor who viciously murdered Rosaria’s sister was released from prison and returned to their village. After publicly confessing to his crimes, Saveri decides to build Rosaria a new home to show his remorse.
Will this token of his shame convince Rosaria of his change of heart? And will Saveri do whatever it takes to regain her trust?
Viewers also journey alongside Chantal, a devastated woman who lost 30 of her family members during the genocide. Despite her persistent fear and rage, Chantal finds the courage to confront John, the family friend who brutally murdered her father. Meeting for the first time in 14 years, John strives to convince Chantal that he is sorry for his crime. Will John persuade Chantal that he has truly turned from his ways? And most importantly, will Chantal forgive him for the murder? Questions like this have no easy answers--for the film’s characters or for its audience.
The subjects of As We Forgive speak for a nation still wracked by the grief of a genocide that killed one in eight Rwandans in 1994. Overwhelmed by an enormous backlog of court cases, the government has returned over 50,000 thousand genocide perpetrators back to the very communities they helped to destroy. Without the hope of full justice, Rwanda has turned to a new solution: Reconciliation.
But can it be done? Can survivors truly forgive the killers who destroyed their families? Can the government expect this from its people? And can the church, which failed at moral leadership during the genocide, fit into the process of reconciliation today? In As We Forgive, director Laura Waters Hinson and narrator Mia Farrow explore these topics through the lives of four neighbors once caught in opposite tides of a genocidal bloodbath, and their extraordinary journey from death to life through forgiveness.
Sponsored by All Saints Church, the Anglican Episcopal House of Studies @ Duke Divinity School, and Duke Center for Reconciliation.
All Saints Church receives its spiritual oversight through the Anglican Mission in America which is under the guidance of Archbishop Emmanuel Kolini, Archbishop of Rwanda. As part of our significant relationship with Rwanda we have a sister parish partnership with St. Paul's Cathedral in Butare, Rwanda. To read more about about our relationship with our brothers and sisters there, click here.
Viewers also journey alongside Chantal, a devastated woman who lost 30 of her family members during the genocide. Despite her persistent fear and rage, Chantal finds the courage to confront John, the family friend who brutally murdered her father. Meeting for the first time in 14 years, John strives to convince Chantal that he is sorry for his crime. Will John persuade Chantal that he has truly turned from his ways? And most importantly, will Chantal forgive him for the murder? Questions like this have no easy answers--for the film’s characters or for its audience.