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April 2024 marked the 30th anniversary of the genocide against the Tutsis in Rwanda, when almost a million people were killed in just 3 months.
At Hope Haven Rwanda in the outskirts of Kigali, the grandchildren of those who perished are rising from poverty to become the hope of nation through a highly academic, faith-based education.
To both commemorate the anniversary and shine a spotlight on the work of the School, victims of the genocide deliver a message of hope through descendants they never met.
The 1994 genocide is still an incredibly painful chapter of history for many Rwandans. Even the process of preparing the material for this project required people to revisit memories they had buried for years.
The challenge was how to address this topic in a way that didn't needlessly create more suffering, while also helping viewers gain an understanding of the role and impact of the School in the lives of its students.
While commemorating the anniversary was the primary objective, it was also used to encourage donations to the nonprofit.
While a documentary style video would no doubt have made for a poignant film on this topic, we decided that a fully scripted approach, based in the collective consciousness of everyday Rwandans, would prove more unexpected.
Filmed on the only RED camera available to rent in all of Rwanda, "If I Were Here Today" was screened at Hope Haven's biggest fundraising events of the year, helping to generate over $2M in donations.
