The deal marks another milestone in the filmmaker’s growing international career following the success of ‘Ben’imana’, which earned two major awards at this year’s Cannes Film Festival in France.

The film won the Caméra d’Or, which recognises the best first feature across the festival’s different selections, and the International Federation of Film Critics (FIPRESCI) Prize in the Un Certain Regard section.

It also made history as the first film directed by a Rwandan filmmaker to feature in Cannes’ Official Selection.

Rwanda subsequently selected ‘Ben’imana’ as its first-ever submission in the Best International Feature Film category at the 99th Academy Awards. The film has also received a nomination for Best International Feature at the Gotham Film Awards.

Following its Cannes premiere, the production travelled to several major international film festivals, including the Toronto International Film Festival, the BFI London Film Festival and AFI Fest.

Set in Rwanda in 2012, eighteen years after the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi, ‘Ben’imana’ explores the difficult process of confronting painful memories, rebuilding relationships and pursuing reconciliation in communities affected by the genocide.

The story centres on Vénéranda, a woman who has spent years helping survivors and families of those responsible confront painful silences surrounding the past. However, when her daughter's future becomes intertwined with that history, she is forced to reconsider the limits of forgiveness.

Through the experiences of three generations of women, the film examines memory, inherited silence and the challenges of rebuilding lives after tragedy.

The cast includes Isabelle Kabano, Clémentine U. Nyirinkindi and Kesia Kelly Nishimwe.

‘Ben’imana’ took 10 years to complete and was produced through an international collaboration involving Rwanda, Gabon, France, Norway and Côte d’Ivoire. Filming was carried out entirely in Rwanda, with 90% of the crew drawn from the country's local film industry.

MK2 is handling international sales, while Alexander holds the film's distribution rights in the United Kingdom and United States. The production is also the first title from Alexander's newly established film division.

A self-taught filmmaker

Born and raised in Kigali, Dusabejambo began her filmmaking journey in 2008 after joining a neighbourhood collective of young filmmakers.

She taught herself the craft before gaining early recognition in 2010, when she won a screenwriting competition organised by the Tribeca Film Institute.

The achievement paved the way for her first short film, ‘Lyiza’, which premiered at the Tribeca Film Festival in 2011 and won the Bronze Tanit at the Carthage Film Festival the following year.

She went on to direct other internationally recognised short films, including ‘A Place for Myself’ and ‘Icyasha’, which explored themes of identity, discrimination and social experiences.

Beyond writing and directing, Dusabejambo has contributed to international productions. She worked as an archivist on ‘Why We Hate’, a documentary series produced by Steven Spielberg and Alex Gibney, and served as assistant director on ‘Faces We Lost’.