SFFS Screen Presents: Munyurangabo June 12, 2009

Lee Isaac Chung’s audacious debut about a quest for justice in Rwanda, will open on SFFS Screen at the Sundance Kabuki Cinemas on Friday, June 12, 2009.

The theft of a bloodstained machete from the local marketplace sets young best friends Munyurangabo (a Tutsi) and Sangwa (a Hutu), on a startling journey of homecoming and personal responsibility through the haunted countryside of Rwanda, a nation still healing from genocide barely a decade old. Their ultimate goal at first unclear, the duo detours into Sangwa’s village, which has seen harder times since the youth abandoned his family three years earlier to make his own way in the city. While Sangwa, sobered by the guilt-ridden welcome of his forgotten family, attempts to assuage his unresolved grief through the effort of honest work for his father, unflinching Munyurangabo yearns to continue on their way in order to confront the Hutu murderer of his own father, whose face he no longer even remembers. Korean American filmmaker Lee Isaac Chung achieves a stunning authenticity, foregoing a mere reenactment of violent episodes in favor of a confidently stark and softly guided, intimate portrait of human fragility infused with global resonance. Grappling with the delicate burden of history, Chung has built a masterful debut, seething with a rare yet simple poetry that is all at once minimal and momentous.

Written by Lee Isaac Chung. Photographed by Lee Isaac Chung. With Jeff Rutagengwa, Eric Ndorunkundiye, Jean Marie Vianney Nkurikiyinka and Edouard B. Uwayo (Rwanda’s poet laureate). 97 min. In Kinyarwanda with English subtitles, Distributed by Film Movement.
At the Sundance Kabuki all seats are reserved and an amenities fee is in effect for most shows. Tickets are available through the Sundance Kabuki Cinemas box office, at kiosks in the lobby and online at sundancecinemas.com/kabuki with print-at-home capability. San Francisco Film Society members receive discounted admission only to SFFS Screen programs and only at the box office, not online or at the lobby kiosks.

Coming soon to SFFS Screen -

June 5: Fados Carlos Saura’s tribute to the art of fado, a style of mournful singing which originated in Portugal in the 1820s, as well as a performance archive featuring legendary singers including Mariza, Carlos do Carmo and Cemané alongside newer artists Lila Downs and Chico Buarque.
June 19: Katyn Acclaimed Polish director Andrzej Wajda has created an epic and personal tale about one of WWII's notorious cover-ups.
June 26: Three Monkeys A man’s agreement to take the fall for his employer’s crime drives his family apart in this sensual, quietly heartbreaking film from Turkish master Nuri Bilge Ceylan.
July 3: Eldorado Two aimless loners unite for a journey to mend lost relationships in this award-winning Belgian film.
July 10: TBA
July 17: The Window A bedridden, 80-year-old man prepares a perfect homecoming for his estranged son. Though confined to his room, he takes one last stroll through the beautiful Patagonian landscape in this elegant, lyrical and humanistic film.
July 24: Lake Tahoe With droll observational humor reminiscent of Jim Jarmusch, Mexican writer/director Fernando Eimbcke’s second feature follows teenage Juan as he struggles to fix the family car in the aftermath of a minor accident and amid deeper emotional undercurrents.
July 31: Lion’s Den A young pregnant woman tries to survive in prison in this Argentinean story of redemption.

For full, complete and up-to-date information on all SFFS Screen programming, including ticket purchasing, visit sffs.org. Information and tickets are also available at www.sundancecinemas.com.

Official Website: http://www.sffs.org