Hotel Rwanda Movie African Schindlers List 3 Academy Award Nominee

A decade after the year 1994, when over half a million Tutsis and Hutus were slaughtered in the Rwandan Genocide, Irish director Terry George directed a cinematic production based on the holocaust that ravaged Rwanda during the period of the Rwandan Civil War. The one hundred days through which the genocide took place are presented masterfully in this movie, titled Hotel Rwanda. The movie was released in the year 2004.

Originally born in Northern Ireland in the year 1952, the director of Hotel Rwanda was influenced considerably by the political turmoil that was prevalent in Ireland during his youth. Irish poets like Seamus Heaney have also been influenced by these events, generally known as The Troubles. Ireland witnessed these clashes in the decade of the 1960s. Terry George has produced a number of movies based on these incidents – The Boxer and In the Name of the Father being examples.

Terry George has been credited not just as the director, but also as a producer of Hotel Rwanda. A. Kilman Ho has been billed as a producer after Terry. Terry George has also received credit along with Keir Pearson for the story. The two production companies responsible for the production of this movie were rivals – one being the United Artists Company and the other being Lion Gate Films. This movie happens to be their first collaborative effort.

The story of Hotel Rwanda revolves around an individual named Paul Rusesabagina, who gets involved in the genocide owing to his wife along with several other relatives and friends of his being Tutsi. This role is played by the American actor Don Cheadle – also known for his role in the Hollywood blockbuster movie Volcano. The role of Pauls wife Tatiana is played by Sophie Okonedo – an actress who has appeared in several movies including Ace Ventura: When Nature Calls.

The hostile environment of the Rwandan Genocide is presented realistically through the lives of these protagonists, as portrayed in Hotel Rwanda. Paul, who happens to be a moderate, senses the escalating tension in the cities. His premonitions are realized when the presidential aircraft is shot down. The director has intelligently avoided any controversy at this juncture and continued to engage his audience deeply in the plot of the movie.

Paul eventually emerges as a heroic figure, even though his heroism is more evident in the ending titles. There, it is mentioned that the efforts of Paul saved over a thousand refugees. Moreover, it is also mentioned that the RPF managed to force the Interahamwe to retreat. Historians and journalists have also commended the historical accuracy of Hotel Rwanda at several junctures. The movie received three Academy Award nominations. The stunning performance by Sophie Okonedo received the Black Reel award for Best Actress in a Drama. Hotel Rwanda