Revisiting the memories and aftermaths of the 1994 genocide is Rwanda & Juliet, a new Canadian documentary, that borrows heavily from William Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet. The production tells the story of unity and reconciliation as reflected amongst today’s youth.

The 88-minute long film is directed and produced by Ben Proudfoot, a Canadian, the alumnus of the University of California in Los Angeles’s School of Cinematic Arts, and founder of Breakwater Studios, established in 2012.

The documentary is in English. The idea for the film dates back to 2013. “We spent a long time trying to figure out the title. We decided on Rwanda & Juliet because it not only encompassed both the play and the central location of our film in the title, but it seemed to elicit curiosity as well,” said Proudfoot.

Filming started in Kigali in June 2013, and finished in 2015. The movie stars local students, many of whom were orphaned by the genocide, and captures moments of the 2014 Kwibuka.

The cast consists of close to 30 members: Tete Divine starring as Juliet, Peter Nambajimana as the Prince, Clarisse Mugeni as Lady Montague, John Bosco Niyonshuti as Lord Capulet, while Clovis Shyaka plays Benvolio.

The film follows eccentric Ivy League professor Andrew Garrod to Kigali where he expects to mount a production of Romeo & Juliet with a cast of students from both Hutu and Tutsi ethnicities.

Twenty years have passed since the 1994 genocide that left nearly one million Tutsis dead. The cast of young Rwandans, led by a captivating and willful Juliet (Tete Divine), are self-realised millennials with stories as emotionally rich as those of the characters they are portraying.

Prof Garrod believes the parallels between Shakespeare’s classic tragedy and the experiences of the cast, most of whom lost family members to violent deaths or imprisonment, will serve as a foundation for to reconciliation in the country.

But his “Western perception” is met with scrutiny by the cast, and the struggle between the unyielding Garrod and his headstrong Juliet leads to a deep divide the cast. The result is a moving concept of hopes and heartbreak, as expectations, personalities, and cultures collide, with opening night drawing ever closer.

Rwanda & Juliet tackles many themes, right from appearance versus reality, the futility and consequences of violence, the self-pride and egotism of the West, the commonality among humanity and the power of theatre.

Proudfoot explains that the hardest part of making the documentary was being true to the story. “It’s easy to make things seem different or more dramatic for storytelling purposes, but the greatest challenge as an editor and director is to shape the movie to capture the essence of what you know really happened, and with honesty giving voices to your characters,” he said.

He thinks some of the cast members struggled through their emotions, but were very brave. “They all have experienced talking about the genocide and even participating in reconciliation plays. It is of course a very sensitive topic, but I thought the cast spoke very well about their experiences and opinions, which is not an easy thing to do,” he explained.

The documentary was financed by private investors who have a special connection with Rwanda. Unlike past films on Rwanda, Rwanda & Juliet is among new documentaries centred on Rwanda that look at the post-genocide generation of Rwandans (the youth) and the complex journeys they have taken, and the hopeful future ahead of them.

The film has been screened at several festivals in the United States including Idyllwild, Nevada and San Luis Obispo, Sebastopol, Omaha and received positive response.

“We are also looking forward to launching it in Europe at the Sheffield Documentary Festival in England, in June this year, before releasing it on TV and online,” Proudfoot added.