By MWENDA WA MICHENI More by this Author

The Rwandan film Mercy of the Jungle directed by Joel Karekezi has won the Golden Stallion of Yennenga, the coveted top prize of the biennial Pan-African Film and Television Festival, Fespaco, — also known as the Oscars of Africa — held in Ouagadougou early this month.

The award is named after a mythical female warrior believed to be the mother of the Mossi kingdom.

Rwanda sent a delegation of 80 professionals led by the Rwanda Development Board, who were later joined by President Paul Kagame, as the festival’s special guests to mark the 50th anniversary of the event.

At the official closing ceremony held in the Municipal Stadium, the Rwandans were conspicuously seated in a corner near the presidential dias, proudly making their presence known with their blue, yellow and green flags. This year's event attracted 10,000 people between February 23 and March 2 and hosted 450 screenings.

This year's event was also graced by hosts President Roch-Marc Christian Kaboré and First Lady Sika Kaboré of Burkina Faso; Malian President Ibrahim Boubacar Keïta and First Lady Keïta Aminata Maïga, and Ghana’s former president Jerry Rawlings.

“We are here to share, learn, and collaborate with the best cinematic talents on our continent,” said President Kagame at a soiree held a day earlier at the Malian mission in the city also known as Vagaga.


“Indeed, there can be no better event for pan-African cultural exchange than Fespaco. Through cinema, Africa has the power to conquer the world’s imagination and capture the strength and vulnerability of our collective struggles, with the full dignity they deserve. We should not fail to seize this opportunity,” President Kagame added.

At a glittering award ceremony, Timité Bassori, Cote d’Ivoire’s pioneering filmmaker, best remembered for his film The Woman with a Knife, received the trophy and called upon Presidents Kagame and Kabore, the chief guest and host respectively to the podium to announce the winner.

It was therefore a pleasant surprise for Kagame when Karekezi's Mercy of the Jungle was announced winner. He also received a conical grass hat from the Fulani, one of the largest communities in West Africa.

In contention were: Wanuri Kahiu’s Rafiki (Kenya), Desrances by Burkinabe director Apolline Traore about the 2010-11 post election violence in Cote d’Ivoire and Five Fingers for Marseilles (South Africa).

Rwandan filmmakers had also submitted other productions.

"The place reserved for Rwanda for this pan-African film event gives us the opportunity to demonstrate the country's potential for audio-visual and socio-economic development through various professional platforms proposed by the festival," said Espérance Nyirasafari, Rwanda’s Minister of Sports and Culture.

The Rwandan delegation “secured agreements to co-produce 15 international films in Rwanda starting this year,” according to Félix Siboniyo, the head of Single Project Implementation Unit at RDB.