Dusabejambo frames 'Ben'Imana not just as a film, but as a necessary mirror for her community, emphasizing reconciliation over judgment and authentic history over stereotypes.
Insiders note the sheer audacity of the production: creating a film that 'looks like a million dollars' with a budget far below that, powered entirely by Rwandan non-professional talent and sheer will.
Fact 1: 'Ben'Imana' is the first Rwandan feature ever selected for the Cannes official competition, where it won the Camera d'Or. Fact 2: It is now Rwanda's first-ever submission for the Academy Awards, a historic double first.
This is a masterclass in doing more with less. Dusabejambo has bypassed Hollywood budgets with pure cultural authenticity, forcing the Academy to look at Rwanda.
Marie-Clémentine Dusabejambo is having a year that most directors dream of in their sleep. After becoming the first Rwandan filmmaker to have a feature accepted into the official selection at the Cannes Film Festival—where she took home the prestigious Camera d'Or—her film *Ben'Imana* has now been nominated as Rwanda’s first-ever Oscar submission. Speaking at Deadline’s Contenders London event on October 10, 2026, the director detailed how she navigated this historic trajectory, moving from the Croisette to the Academy stage with a story that is deeply personal and politically urgent.
The film, set in 2012—eighteen years after the genocide against the Tutsi—unfolds in a Rwandan village where survivors and perpetrators are still grappling with the painful process of reconciliation. For Dusabejambo, who was only seven years old during the genocide, cinema became an unexpected exit ramp from her earlier studies in mathematics and physics. She revealed that the concept for *Ben'Imana* germinated after her second short film in 2013, describing it as a destiny that needed time to mature.
"I needed time to understand, to feel, to read, to hear," she said. "There’s a point in time where every generation needs to understand what happened, where we came from... and what people decided to do in their time within their own means to be able to continue." What makes Dusabejambo’s approach distinct in the crowded landscape of trauma narratives is her refusal to rely on simplistic archetypes. She explicitly aimed to break through the myths and preconceptions that have calcified around the genocide, stating, "I wanted to be more authentic to the history... and I also wanted to not judge the people, the generation, that came before us, and what they did." By avoiding the stereotypical binary of victim and perpetrator, she sought to create a mirror for her community, focusing on the complex work of turning lives around and creating a future through peace.
Perhaps most impressive to industry observers is the production reality behind the polished final cut. Dusabejambo praised her crew and mostly non-professional cast, noting that while the film "looks like a million dollars," it did not cost that much. The value, she argued, came from "the love and the art and the will of the people who worked with me to tell the story." With the film being 100% made by Rwandans, the fictional elements frequently intersected with reality, creating a raw authenticity that budget constraints cannot buy. As the Oscar campaign heats up, Dusabejambo has proven that cultural specificity and emotional truth remain the most powerful currencies in global cinema.
