FACETS CINÉMATHÈQUE

July 2009

The Facets Cinémathèque is located at 1517 W. Fullerton Ave. in Chicago. For more information on films playing in the Cinémathèque, please call 773-281-4114. To order advance tickets online, visit the TicketWeb website by clicking here.

Chicago Premiere

MUNYURANGABO

"Like a bolt out of the blue, Korean American filmmaker Lee Isaac Chung achieves an astonishing and thoroughly masterful debut... which is — by several light years — the finest and truest film yet on the moral and emotional repercussions of the 15-year-old genocide that wracked Rwanda"
-Variety

"Chekhov's principle of drama is in full effect, but what's remarkable about this film... is how it slowly steers its way from portent to poetry"
-TimeOut NY

"It is in every frame a beautiful and powerful film — a masterpiece"
-Roger Ebert

Recommended! "Ousmane Sembène might have been impressed"
-NewCity Chicago

"A taut, atmospheric drama... that evokes the mythic while reflecting contemporary African realities"
-Chicago Reader

An exquisite, deeply moving feature from Korean-American filmmaker Lee Isaac Chung, developed and shot in Rwanda as part of a filmmaking class he taught there. Munyurangabo paints a sensitive portrayal of Ngabo and Sangwa, two friends of different ethnic backgrounds, struggling with the legacy of the genocide that devastated their country. In the midst of a journey whose goal is revealed only gradually, the two stop for several days at the home Sangwa left years ago. Faced with the hatred harbored by Sangwa's father towards the Tutsi, their friendship is threatened by the sorrow, anger, and guilt inherited from their forebears. Observing the painful and difficult process of coming to terms with this burden, Chung and his cast of non-actors convey the enduring tragedy of the Rwandan genocide while expressing a measure of hope in the capacity of individuals to overcome the obstacles standing in the way of reconciliation.

Directed by Lee Isaac Chung, Rwanda, 2007, 97 minutes, 35mm. In Kinyarwanda with English subtitles.

YouTube trailer YouTube: director interview New York Times

New York Times: director interview Variety Village Voice Roger Ebert

NewCity Chicago TimeOut Chicago Chicago Reader

Showtimes:
Fri., July 24 at 7 & 9 pm
Sat.-Sun., July 25-26 at 3, 5, 7 & 9 pm
Mon.-Thurs., July 27-30 at 7 & 9 pm

Tickets:
$9 general admission
FREE for Facets Members!

Order tickets online

For all Cinémathèque inquiries, contact Charles Coleman at 773.281.9075 or charles@facets.org