Issue 005/2005

Numéro 005/2005

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In This Issue - Dans ce numéro

Movie Tells Story of 7860 Romeo Dallaire

First Penalty in West Point Game

Who Were Bill & Alphie?

“Caught in that Terrible Tsunami” – 5995

A Pilot’s Log Book (Part One) -  3652

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Some were moderate Hutus.

The United Nations Security Council labelled the killings “acts of genocide.”
Rwanda makes for a gruesome subject, but the documentary isn’t scaring audiences away. Raymont premiered Shake Hands with the Devil at this month’s Sundance Film Festival in Park City, Utah. “The film became one of the most talked about and watched films at the festival,” he said.
n an unprecedented move, Sundance founder Robert Redford introduced the film at its first screening.

“He never does that,” Raymont said. “He doesn’t go to public screenings.”

Sundance movies are in competition with one another, so the fact that Redford put his star power behind Shake Hands with the Devil is evidence of how much the film’s supporters want it to succeed. The documentary follows retired Canadian general Romeo Dallaire on his first trip back to Rwanda, 10 years after he witnessed the slaughter there.

Dallaire was in charge of the 1994 UN peacekeeping mission in Rwanda. He knew that Hutu extremists were planning to massacre their Tutsi neighbours and asked the UN for permission to stop it. Not only was he refused but the UN pulled out some of Dallaire’s troops, leaving him to watch as thousands of men, women and children were butchered.

When he returned to Canada he fell into a deep depression and attempted suicide. He was diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder. Extensive therapy and medications helped him gain some control over his depression.
As part of his recovery, Dallaire wrote an account of his time in Rwanda. The book, Shake Hands with the Devil: The Failure of Humanity in Rwanda, is about the genocide – and the UN’s failure to prevent it.

Raymont set his sights on Dallaire’s story five years ago when he heard Dallaire wanted to return to Rwanda one day to confront his demons. If Dallaire went, Raymont was determined to film his return. For five years he wrote to Dallaire. He never got a response.

But when Dallaire’s book was in manuscript form, Raymont acquired the documentary rights. And when Dallaire decided to return to Rwanda to mark the 10th anniversary of the massacre, Raymont and his crew were ready to roll. The film, like the book, isn’t for the squeamish. It shows footage of massacre victims, but considering how brutal the killings were – many done with machetes – Raymont handles the subject with restraint.

“There was horrific footage,” he said. “How much to use and where to use it – we struggled with that throughout the editing process.” In the final cut, Raymont shows just enough horror to punctuate the memories Dallaire describes as he revisits the killing grounds, and no more.

Raymont said he and his crew started to identify deeply with Dallaire as he confronted his memories of the killings. “You know that film, Being John Malkovich? We felt like we were ‘Being Romeo Dallaire,’ ” Raymont said.

The filmmaker said he developed an enormous respect for Dallaire. “He’s a great man, a great humanitarian. He’s extremely impressive and almost intimidating and yet not intimidating. He’s very humble,” Raymont said. “I think that’s one of the keys to the film. He’s very open and accessible.”

A little over a week after Shake Hands with the Devil premiered at Sundance, Canadians are also getting the chance to see it. CBC is airing an abridged version of the film Monday at 9 p.m. on The Passionate Eye.

It’s been cut from about 90 minutes to 56 minutes to fit the time slot. It could have been cut more, but CBC chose to run it without commercials. People who watch the film will see bleakness but it’s lightened by hints of optimism. Even as Dallaire confronts his guilt and horror, there are flashes of hope in him – hope that by talking in about his personal hell, the world will listen and stop another massacre.

“People know documentaries present a point of view,” Raymont said. “Take it or leave it. The filmmaker is wearing his heart on his sleeve.” Raymont took a walk through Dallaire’s nightmare because he wants people to understand what must never happen again.

“Our film points out the inadequacy of the United Nations, the inadequacy of the response,” he said. Raymont and Dallaire may be gaining on their goal. The genocide in Rwanda is getting increasing attention. Dallaire’s book won the 2004 Governor General’s Award for literary non-fiction.

Raymont’s film caused a stir at Sundance. And over in Hollywood, Hotel Rwanda, a drama about the Rwanda genocide, was nominated this week for an Academy Award for best original screenplay. The film also picked up two acting nominations. But Raymont admitted it’s hard to hope these days, pointing to the campaign of ethnic cleansing in Sudan.

“Here we see it all over again,” he said. “So I’m not sure how much has changed.” Raymont is now working with the CBC to develop a dramatic script about immigration police, a topic he tackled in documentary form in the 2002 film The Undefended Border. He’s also hoping to make a film in Chernobyl to recognize the 20th anniversary of the nuclear disaster there.

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