Joël Karekezi

EARLY LIFE

Joël Karekezi was born on 12 December 1985 in Rubavu, Rwanda. He is one of three siblings (a brother and a sister). He is a survivor of the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi, during which his father was killed. After the events he took refuge in the neighbouring Democratic Republic of the Congo (then Zaire). He later studied Biology and Chemistry for three years at the Kigali Institute of Education. His interest in filmmaking developed through online courses; he completed a diploma in Film Directing from the Canadian online film school Cinécours in 2008. In 2009 he attended a screenwriting course at the Maisha Film Lab in Uganda (founded by Mira Nair), where he developed the script for his first film.

CAREER

Karekezi began directing with the short film The Pardon (2009/2010), developed at Maisha Film Lab. The story follows a man released from prison after 15 years who confronts the consequences of having killed his best friend’s family during the genocide. The film won the Golden Impala Award at the Amakula Film Festival (Uganda) and Best Short Film at the Silicon Valley African Film Festival. It screened at festivals including Durban, Zanzibar, and others. He expanded the story into his first feature, Imbabazi: The Pardon (2013). Made on a modest budget and filmed in Uganda, it won the Nile Grand Prize at the 2014 Luxor African Film Festival and Best Director at the International Images Film Festival for Women. His second feature, The Mercy of the Jungle (2018), premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival. It follows two Rwandan soldiers separated from their unit at the start of the Second Congo War as they struggle to survive in the jungle. The film received major recognition, including the Étalon d’Or de Yennenga (top prize) at FESPACO 2019, Best Film at the Africa Movie Academy Awards, Best Screenplay at the Khouribga African Film Festival, and the Jury’s Best Feature Narrative Award at the Pan African Film Festival (PAFF). Karekezi has continued developing new projects. He is attached as co-writer (with Nigerian filmmaker Ema Edosio-Deelen) on Bisesero: A Daughter’s Story, about civilian resistance during the genocide. He is also developing Capitaine Mbaye (also referred to as The Lion of Teranga or Le Lion de la Teranga), a Rwanda–Belgium–France–Senegal co-production he is writing and directing. The film centres on the real-life Senegalese Captain Mbaye Diagne, a UN observer who risked his life to save people during the 1994 genocide. The project has received support from the Organisation internationale de la Francophonie (OIF), the Red Sea Fund, and Senegal’s FOPICA fund. He has also participated in international development programmes, including the Berlinale Talent Campus, Cannes La Fabrique des Cinémas du Monde, Locarno Open Doors, and others. He established Karekezi Film Production in Rwanda with the aim of producing African films for international audiences.

Joël Karekezi is regarded as one of the leading contemporary Rwandan filmmakers. His work consistently explores themes of conflict, the human cost of war, forgiveness, and hope, drawing on both personal experience and broader historical events in the Great Lakes region. His films have screened widely on the international festival circuit and have contributed to the growing visibility of Rwandan cinema.