FILM SYNOPSIS:

SOMETIMES IN APRIL recreates the horror and heroisms of the ten year rampage begun on April 7, 1994, by Rwanda's ethnic Hutu majority in which an estimated 800,000 Tutsis and moderate Hutus were killed. Survivors fill most of the acting roles and make up much of the crew. Recreating the horror they experienced has proven traumatic for some, as well as a healing exercise for others.

Hutu soldier Augustin Muganza and his comrade Xavier defy their military superiors' instructions in order to get Augustin's Tutsi wife and children to safety. Augustin fails to reach them and is arrested. He has no idea what has happened to his family, but has little hope for their survival. Ten years later, he decides to face his past and start a new life with his girlfriend, Martine. The couple attends the United Nations' tribunal in Arusha, where Augustin's brother, Honoré, must answer to a Truth and Reconciliation commission for the inflammatory role that he and other journalists played in this devastating civil war.

SOMETIMES IN APRIL was nominated for a Silver Berlin at the 2005 Berlin International Film Festival.

DIRECTOR’S BIOGRAPHY:

Born in Haiti, raised in Zaire (Congo) and France, he additionally is well-suited for the international following he has earned. He remains one of few filmmakers that successfully produce documentaries and feature films. No doubt his early travels throughout the world have informed his particular aesthetic as a filmmaker. Educated in Haiti, Zaire (Congo), France, and Germany, Peck initially studied engineering and economics at Berlin University. He worked as a journalist and photographer from 1980 to 1985. In 1988 he received his film degree from the Berlin Academy of Film and Television. Since graduation, Peck has developed short experimental works, socio-political documentaries, and features based on fact as well as fiction. His feature L'Homme sur les quais (1993) (The Man by the Shore) was the first Haitian film to be released in theatres in the United States; this feature was also selected for competition at the 1993 Cannes Film Festival. A true internationalist, Peck divides his time between Europe and the United States and for a brief time in the 1990s he served as Haiti's Minister of Culture. For his international vision, historical and political insights, along with his potent artistic vision, he has been richly rewarded. In 1994 he was awarded the Nestor Almendros Prize by the Human Rights Watch in New York; and in 2001 he received the organization's Lifetime Achievement Award. (MUBI)