"Birds Sing in Kigali" is based on Wojciech Albiński's short story "Which of You Committed Genocide?" from his collection of short stories "The Antelope Seeks a Hunter". The story follows a young Tutsi girl and a Norwegian ornithologist who saves her life during the slaughter in Rwanda in 1994. Over 1 million people died in purges that spanned more than three months. The ornithologist saves the girl and takes her with him to Europe (in the film replaced by Canada). The heroine completes her studies and sets up a family. After many years abroad she returns to her African homeland and decides to give up her life and family and stay in Rwanda. Jowita Budnik has been included in the cast.
Scenes taking place outside of Rwanda have been shot in Lower Silesia. Extras from Wroclaw, selected in castings carried out by Wroclaw-based Studio ABM, will also feature in the film.
The couple: Krzysztof Krauze and Joanna Kos-Krauze are considered to be one of the most creative director duos in the history of Polish cinema. They have co-created such films as "My Nikifor", "Saviour Square" and "Papusza", a biography of the Romani poet Bronisława Wajs.
The story on which their new film is based was written by Wojciech Albiński, one of the most intriguing contemporary Polish writers. He made his surprising début when he was 68 years old with "Kalahari", an excellent collection of short stories about South Africa. Albiński is a geodetic surveyor by profession. In the 1960s, he emigrated to France, and later relocated to Botswana and South Africa. When in Africa, he both worked in his profession and observed and studied the cultures in which he had lived. His observations resulted in excellent books on Africa: "The Antelope Seeks a Hunter", "Lidia from Cameroon" or "Soweto: My Love".
"Birds Sing in Kigali" is expected to have its première next year.
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