A trio of stories explore the complex relationships between parents and children in Director Kivu Ruhorahoza’s drama from the East African nation of Rwanda, Father’s Day
Set in and around the Rwandan city of Kigali, Ruhorahoza’s film interweaves three tales that follow a mother gradually distancing herself from her husband while trying to cope accidental death of her teenage son; an impressionable young boy roaming the city with his angry small-time crook father who drags his son into his increasingly violent schemes; and young woman finds herself conflicted over whether she should donate an organ to save the life of the ailing father she never truly loved. Shot on a micro-budget of roughly $50,000, Father's Day premiered at the Berlin International Film Festival where it was nominated for the Encounters Award.
Following the Special Projects Committee’s Global Cinema Series screening in the DGA’s Los Angeles Theater on June 23, Ruhorahoza joined Global Cinema Series Co-Chair Alex Stapleton (Hello, Privilege. It's Me, Chelsea) via video from Rwanda to discuss the making of Father’s Day.
During the conversation, Ruhorahoza spoke about how the concept of fatherhood is being reinvented in his country.
“Celebrating Father’s Day is new to us. There have been many debates about men in Rwanda on social media and in general, and I decided to do this film.” Elaborating the point, he added, “ I wanted to show a type of masculinity that is dying out.”
Ruhorahoza’s other directorial works include the feature films Europa: Based on a True Story, Things of the Aimless Wanderer and Grey Matter; and the documentary Pilgrimages.
You can listen to Ruhorahoza's Q&A by clicking the podcast episode embedded below. You can find more DGA podcast episodes here.