• It tells a lesser-known story of the Rwandan genocide
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Stories of the 1994 genocide against the Tutsi hves been told in different projects. More than 800,000 men, women and children of the Tutsi and moderate Hutu were slaughtered.
A lesser-known story is that of “The 600”. When the genocide began on April 7, 1994, a group of 600 soldiers from the 3rd Battalion of the Rwandan Patriotic Army (RPA), in Kigali for peace talks, became surrounded by over 10,000 soldiers of the Hutu Power Government.
Richard Hall, Hollywood writer and producer, describes this as an important and inspirational film that not only honours self-sacrifice and courage but also the memory of those who died during the genocide against the Tutsi in 1994.
“It also makes a connection between the RPA soldiers and the civilians they were trying to protect, in one of the most desperate military missions of all time, in stopping this genocide," he said.
"The 600 soldiers, surrounded and outnumbered by government soldiers and militias, rescued hundreds of civilians and began the counter-attack that restored order in Rwanda by 100 days.”
The 114-minute action docufilm by Great Blue Production has won Best Documentary at the Winter Film Awards in New York City, Best Director for a Feature Documentary at the Golden State Film Festival, and Best Feature at the Austria International Film Festival 2020.
It was directed by Laurent Basset, a renowned Hollywood cinematographer, and executive produced by Richard Hall, also from Hollywood, as well as Annette Uwizeye, a seasoned Kigali-based filmmaker.
The film is available worldwide in 190 countries.