Gacaca part I

Jim's been busting the theory about 'Africa time'. Up until today the only ones late to appointments have been the mzungus (white people).

African bureaucracy is like anywhere... it takes forever to get things done, in this case a signature on a letter. Finally at 10am this morning we were given a letter allowing us to shoot Gacaca courts in session. By 3 we located one and set up to shoot, but this particular court isn't at the point of trying prisoners yet. They're completing the work of compiling a list of victims and perpetrators of genocide from this community, a process that has taken three months. It was interesting and informative, but there was nothing there for us to shoot.

So, today was basically a bust for usable footage. Sad to loose a day out of a 5-day schedule, but in the end this footage will be worth the hassle. We have the location of a court for Wednesday morning (as we leave for Uganda) that we know is trying prisoners.

The next two days are quite full - three interviews tomorrow: Antoine Rutayisire, head of African Enterprise; the CEO of MTN Rwanda; and the head of World Relief Rwanda. Tuesday is option day. We're still working on the chopper... beyond that we've got a bunch of broll, quick interviews with Jeff & Yvonne of Wellspring, a Rwandan dancing ceremony, and talking to a couple small shop owners in Kigali.

There's this small fear in the back of my mind that I'll miss something... not in terms of detail. We have enough detail on the inner workings of Rwanda to create a 5-hour uber-documentary. It's the story thread, the hook, the heart stuff... is this story as I have it now really going to grab people? It should, on its own merit. But storytelling doesn't change people by the merit of the story. It depends on the skill of the storyteller.

And this is a documentary of Rwandan voices. I don't want to have a voiceover telling people what to think. I want Rwandan voices to share their struggles & dreams. So in the next couple days I'll be searching for that overlooked thread that hits the message home.


No Gacaca shots today, so here's something from yesterday:


And here's the project file I'm working with for this trip, for Jesse & Lyn: