Marie-Clementine Dusabejambo, a Rwandan director, has recently become a client of CAA, a major talent agency. This follows the critical success of her initial feature film, "Ben'imana," which secured the Camera d'Or at this year's Cannes Film Festival. The film not only earned the best first feature award but also received the Fipresci Prize in the Un Certain Regard category, marking a historic achievement as the first Rwandan film selected for Cannes' official lineup. Subsequently, Rwanda put forward "Ben'imana" as its inaugural submission for the best international feature at the 99th Academy Awards, where it also received a nomination for the Gotham Film Awards. Its festival run included showings at Toronto, the BFI London Film Festival, and AFI Fest, highlighting its broad international appeal.
The production of "Ben'imana" spanned a decade and was a collaborative effort involving Rwanda, Gabon, France, and Norway, with an impressive 90% of the crew hailing from Rwanda's local film industry. International distribution is managed by MK2, while Alexander holds the rights for the U.K. and U.S. markets, notably making it the first project for Alexander's new film division. Dusabejambo, a native of Kigali, developed her filmmaking skills independently, starting with a local youth film collective in 2008. Her talent was recognized in a 2010 Tribeca Film Institute screenwriting competition, which led to her debut short, "Lyiza." This film premiered at Tribeca in 2011 and won the Bronze Tanit at Carthage the following year. Her subsequent shorts, "A Place for Myself" and "Icyasha," also achieved international acclaim on the festival circuit, accumulating numerous awards.
Beyond her work in writing and directing, Dusabejambo contributed to the acclaimed documentary series "Why We Hate," produced by Steven Spielberg and Alex Gibney, serving as an archivist. She also took on the role of assistant director for "Faces We Lost." She continues to be represented by Paris-based attorney Béatrice Roig of Cabinet Béatrice Roig. Dusabejambo's journey exemplifies the power of perseverance and passion in cinematic storytelling, bringing unique narratives from Rwanda to the global stage and enriching the diverse landscape of international cinema.
