Four Feature Films in the Final Quarter Might Not Seem Like Much — But for Rwanda’s Film Industry, It’s a Historic Moment

In the final quarter of 2025, Rwandan cinema is staging what looks like a historic act of self-assertion. Four feature films by Rwandan filmmakers have entered production between September and December, marking one of the busiest and most promising seasons in the country’s film history.

For an industry long defined by scattered efforts, underfunded projects, and the occasional international festival breakthrough, this concentrated wave of feature production signals a seismic shift.

At the heart of this turning point is filmmaker Marie-Clémentine Dusabejambo, who just wrapped the production of her debut feature Benimana early this month. The film tells a story of Veneranda, a survivor of the genocide against the Tutsi who has built a life rooted in reconciliation and restraint. But when her daughter reveals an unexpected pregnancy, the quiet order she’s clung to begins to unravel.

A decade in the making, Benimana epitomizes the patience and persistence required to make a Rwandan feature. The film passed through international development labs including the Atlas Workshops at the Marrakech International Film Festival and Ouaga Film Lab, and secured backing from some of the world’s most prestigious funds, such as the Berlinale’s World Cinema Fund. Most recently, it received production support from the Norwegian Sørfond, further underscoring its global resonance. The project is shot by Egyptian cinematographer Mostafa El Kashef, best known for his work on the Cannes 2025 selection Aisha Can’t Fly Away.

Another highly anticipated production that kicked off production this October is Samuel Ishimwe’s debut feature Ikimanuka (The Season of the Weary). Ishimwe became a name to watch when his short Imfura won a Silver Bear at the 2017 Berlin International Film Festival — the first Rwandan film ever to receive such recognition. Since then, he has nurtured his feature project through some of the world’s top incubators, including the Cannes Cinéfondation Residence. Ikimanuka follows Mbanda, 57, whose solitary life is turned upside down when he is reunited with the love of his youth after decades apart.

The film is produced by Rwanda’s Imitana Productions alongside France’s Petit Chaos, known for producing Payal Kapadia’s All We Imagine As Light, which won the Grand Prix at Cannes 2024. Ikimanuka also received a €100,000 production grant from Rwanda’s Creative Grants Initiative 2024, a funding scheme launched by the Rwanda Development Board (RDB) and the Rwanda Film Office (RFO) in partnership with the Organisation Internationale de la Francophonie (OIF).

Meanwhile, filmmaker Yuhi Amuli, whose debut A Taste of Our Land premiered at the Pan African Film Festival in Los Angeles and won the Award for Best First Narrative Feature, is preparing to shoot his third film. Though details remain under wraps, Amuli is once again self-funding the project, just as he did with A Taste of Our Land and Citizen Kwame.

Finally, newcomer Robert Pepe Imanishimwe is preparing his debut feature The Uncomfortable Zone, which, like Ishimwe’s project, secured €100,000 from the Creative Grants Initiative. Imanishimwe may be less known than his peers, but the institutional backing behind his film shows Rwanda’s commitment to supporting emerging talent and diversifying the cinematic landscape.

For outsiders, four features in one season might not seem extraordinary. But in Rwanda, where feature filmmaking has historically been rare, the scale of this activity is unprecedented.

To put this in perspective, in recent years: in 2022, Kivu Ruhorahoza’s Father’s Day, which premiered at Berlinale, was the only feature film to come out of Rwanda. In 2023, Myriam Birara’s The Bride was again the country’s sole only feature and also premiered at Berlinale.

No Rwandan feature premiered at a major international festival in 2024, with a few YouTube releases here and there. In 2025, Mbabazi Sharangabo’s debut feature Minimals in the Titanic World premiered at Berlinale, while Phiona, A Girl from Madrid screened at FESPACO after four years in the post-production.

For four projects, all internationally ambitious, with lab pedigrees and festival prospects, to cluster in just the last quarter of 2025 marks a major acceleration. It suggests that what used to be isolated exceptions is becoming a wave.

So what’s different this year? For the first time, Rwandan filmmakers now have access to significant domestic production funding. Two of the upcoming features (Ikimanuka and The Uncomfortable Zone) each received €100,000, enough to anchor their budgets. This marks a structural shift because until now, filmmakers relied almost entirely on foreign grants or private funding.

A friend recently expressed concern that this momentum might be a one-off. I hope it isn’t. I hope the courage never ceases, that the Rwanda Film Office continues to push for a self-reliant national funding scheme that enables local filmmakers to produce without waiting years to raise money. But most of all, I hope filmmakers keep dreaming and creating, by any means necessary.

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