Nick Hughes Movies

An inspirational message in documentary form, this film witnesses one of the purest distillations of hope in ages: the youth of Rwanda, who despite enduring one of the most harrowing genocides imaginable have found a way to channel their personal difficulties into artistic expression. Many of the Rwandan children lost their parents and siblings in the said conflict, and some suffered from physical trauma as well, but in their hands, poetry, music, dance and painting became an outlet for frustration, confusion and tumult. As helmed by Kavila Matu, this program witnesses the way that altruistic organizations like UNICEF are nudging the said children in the right direction to make this happen. It also demonstrates how the created artwork continues to honor victims of the genocide and to address contemporary African social problems such as AIDS and poverty. ~ Nathan Southern, Rovi

Former BBC reporter Nick Hughes directs this chilling dramatization of the genocide in Rwanda during the 1990s. The film centers on a pair of young lovers; Bapiste is more than ready to have sex with his girlfriend Josette, but she refuses, arguing that when they are married they can have all the sex they would like. Meanwhile, powerful Hutu leaders have had enough of Tutsi rebels and call on all Hutus to kill their Tutsi neighbors. As chaos breaks out, the Tutsis flee and the lovers are separated. Josette and her family find solace in a Catholic church run by a sadistic priest. The Catholic Church, the state, and the French army look the other way as bloodshed ensues. Josette is taken as a "wife" by the priest and repeatedly raped. When the Belgian army sent in to protect the church is called away on an emergency, the Hutus attack and massacre hundreds of women and children. Josette miraculously survives, but she is only a husk of the woman that she was. As the Tutsis regroup, they exact terrible revenge. This film was screened at the 2001 Toronto Film Festival. ~ Jonathan Crow, Rovi