My Killer My Neighbour by Anne Aghion

Some sentences at the beginning of My Neighbour, My Killer tell us that during the civil conflict in Rwanda, three quarters of the population were killed. Nevertheless, this documentary does not cover the conflict itself, but the moment when the “gacacas” (community courts) take place. This happens more than 10 years after the killings, but the wounds are still open.

A country like Rwanda, facing many problems such as poverty and overcrowded prisons, has to take action against impunity in a creative way. The idea of the government is to face (confront) the victims’ relatives and the killers in the gacacas, where emotions are mixed with blurry, conflictive memories, provoking controversy.

What happened to this country was so horrible, that even the solutions for issues like impunity are difficult to handle. My Neighbour, My Killer is a film that focuses on its characters, their personal stories, their feelings years after the killings, their wishes for justice and their still present suffering. This movie not only depicts Rwanda’s situation in a mature, intelligent and well-narrated way, but it also shows possible solutions to deal with past conflicts and their consequences.

Natalia Ames