Birds Are Singing in Kigali is a story of a Polish ornithologist, who conducts research on the decline of the population of vultures in Rwanda. When the genocide starts, the woman saves one Rwanda girl (the daughter of a co-worker of the Tutsi tribe) and takes her to Poland. This first Polish film about refugees is a story about friendship, forgiveness and the power of nature, based on the novel Which of You Committed Genocide? by Wojciech Albiński

"The population of vultures was almost extinct in Africa and India in the 90s. It was rebuilt by the genocide in Rwanda because the birds fed on human corpses. The vultures and other predatory birds eliminated the singing birds in Rwanda. Silence was dominating in a metaphysical and literal way, it was the silence after the genocide, but the singing birds came back in a few years. Life came back", Joanna Kos-Krauze told FNE.

The cast includes Jowita Budnik, Eliane Umuhire, Nibagwire Didacienne, Anna Ilczuk, Witold Wieliński and Aleksander Mikołajczak.

The film was produced by KOSFilm in coproduction with Telewizja Polska, the National Culture Center, Odra Film, Studio A, with a budget of 1.2 m EUR and with the support of the Polish Film Institute.  

The film was shot in Rwanda and Poland from May 2014 to September 2015.

The film was awarded best actress for both Eliane Umuhire and Jowita Budnik at the 52nd Karlovy Vary International Film Festival.

Birds Are Singing in Kigali will be domestically released by Kino Świat on 22 September 2017.

Production Information:

KOSfilm
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TVP
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National Culture Center
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Odra Film
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Studio A
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Credits:

Directors: Joanna Kos-Krauze, Krzysztof Krauze
Screenwriter: Joanna Kos-Krauze, Krzysztof Krauze
DoP: Krzysztof Ptak PSC, Józefina Gocman, Wojciech Staroń PSC
Cast: Jowita Budnik, Eliane Umuhire, Nibagwire Didacienne, Anna Ilczuk, Witold Wieliński, Aleksander Mikołajczak