Kivu Ruhorahoza is a Rwandan director, writer and producer whose film, Things of
the Aimless Wanderer, was recently selected to appear in the Sundance Film
Festival’s New Frontier section. Someday he plans on doing an African remake of
Stanley Kubrick’s Lolita, but for now he’s focused on sharing more authentic African
narratives.
HOW WOULD YOU DESCRIBE YOURSELF AS A DIRECTOR?
KR: I communicate a lot with artistic collaborators and technicians. For that part, I
like to be fully in control. I direct the actors but I also like giving them room to
share their ideas as much as possible, allowing them to improvise within the limits I
have set. I never shout. I hate it when filmmakers are being unnecessarily vulgar
and aggressive to prove that they are tough and tormented artists.
WHAT IS YOUR FAVOURITE AFRICAN AND INTERNATIONAL FILM, AND WHY?
KR: This question should be preceded by the definition of what is an African film
because that’s an ongoing debate… If capitals and crew are international, is the film
African? How about a director from Africa with an African cast and crew for a film
set in Europe made with European capitals?
I quite like Au Nom du Christ by Roger Gnoan Mbala. It is not the best “African film’
out there but I think it should be seen. It is beautifully shot by a little known
Algerian cinematographer/director, Mohammed Soudani, whose work I wish I had
seen more of. It is also very relevant in these times of religious fundamentalism
and is quite irreverent in the way it portrays religious believers, which we don’t
often see in cinemas from Africa.
International film? There are certainly over 50 but I’ll talk about Bodysong by Simon
Pummell. This film manages to make the viewer “feel’ things that parents, religious
and political leaders have failed to be convincing of. There’s one shot in the film
with a woman holding a baby she has just given birth to in a bathtub… That shot
can convince a hardcore anti-child individual to rethink their position. Personally, I
really think I view motherhood differently.
WHERE DO YOU GET YOUR STORY IDEAS FROM?
KR: Anything can trigger a film idea. A smile, a building, a sound, a TV news story,
everyday life, history, current news… Any and everything.
WHICH FIVE FILM CHARACTERS WOULD YOU INVITE TO A DINNER PARTY?
KR: 1. The female English narrator of Chris Marker’s Sans Soleil. Her voice and
diction are unforgettable. After dinner, it would be great to eat dark chocolate,
smoke and drink good cognac with her.
2. Naago played by Aboubacar Sadikh Ba in Moussa Sene Absa’s Madame Brouette.
A womanising police officer whose bad faith is quite hilarious. Dinner could never
get boring with this guy.
3. Jackie Brown played by Pam Grier in Quentin Tarantino’s Jackie Brown. I have
always been attracted to beautiful 40-something women down on their luck.
4. The Old Monk played by Oh Yeong-Su in Kim Ki-duk’s Spring, Summer, Fall,
Winter… and Spring. We could drink vodka and eat pickled herring with him.
5. Marcel played by Andre Wilms in Aki Kaurismaki’s Le Havre. In an unpretentious
setting I could have lots of red wine with him.
WHAT DOES THE FUTURE OF FILM IN AFRICA LOOK LIKE TO YOU?
KR: It is impossible to tell, because African film industries are not organised except
for three or four nations. That makes them quite unpredictable. All I know is that
there will be more and more great films coming from the continent. Unfortunately,
those successes will stem from personal ingenuity rather than a policy that favours
a creative environment. But the easy access to production and post-production
equipment will keep inundating viewers with content to be watched on all sorts of
screens including portable devices.
There’s a lot going on when it comes to film training but if we don’t invest in film
education, we’ll end up with lots of films made to live for only a few days. Fast-
films that can be compared to fast food. Cheap, guilty pleasure, unhealthy type of
films.
IF YOU COULD SHOOT A FILM ANYWHERE IN THE WORLD, WHERE WOULD IT BE?
KR: Chernobyl – the setting is unique.
WHAT HAS BEEN YOUR PROUDEST MOMENT AS A DIRECTOR?
KR: There’s one particular shot I am happy with. The choreography of my camera
and the actor’s movement decided by me, worked quite well. I recently saw it on
the big screen and I blushed (and I’m black).
WHAT IS YOUR FAVOURITE ONE-LINER FROM A FILM?
KR: “Quand les hommes sont morts, ils entrent dans l’histoire; quand les statues
sont mortes, elles entrent dans l’art.’ From Statues also Die by Chris Marker and
Alain Resnais.
It can be translated to: “When men die, they enter into history. When statues die,
they enter into art.’
– Compiled by Carly Barnes
