Rwanda's big screen moment: Historic Cannes win sparks creative boom

To display this content from YouTube, you must enable advertisement tracking and audience measurement. One of your browser extensions seems to be blocking the video player from loading. To watch this content, you may need to disable it on this site. Cover image: Rwanda film AP Photo/John Locher - John Locher 01:52 Issued on: 05/08/2026 - 11:31 Rwandan cinema has never enjoyed such a spotlight. Last May at the Cannes Film Festival, Ben'Imana by Marie-Clémentine Dusabejambo won the 'Caméra d'Or' – the first Rwandan feature film ever to do so. The achievement has lifted an entire local film scene now in full bloom: in Kigali, restored movie theatre, open-air festival and a new generation of filmmakers reflect this momentum. Keywords for this article