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One of the few films to engage with Rwandans as users of images, rather than simply their subjects, The Faces We Lost follows nine survivors of the 1994 genocide, relatives of victims and professional memory-makers.
The 1994 genocide against the Tutsi in Rwanda claimed the lives of nearly one million people in just 100 days. The Faces We Lost explores how Rwandans now use personal photographs to commemorate the loved ones they lost.
At the time, the international community responded by publishing horrific photographs of mutilated bodies and nameless refugees. But The Faces We Lost aims to engage with Rwandans as users of images, rather than simply their subjects.
Rwandans remember their loved ones through images of life, not death: a passport or I.D. card photo, an unguarded snap taken in the garden or a group portrait from a wedding or a baptism. The surviving images are precious objects, with so many destroyed and lost forever. A lot of people have only a solitary image of their loved ones. Many have none at all.
This documentary speaks to nine survivors and relatives of victims who guide us through their stories, and the images that they use to keep their memories alive.For more information about the film please check their website here.