Balthasar

Begin Began Begun

April in Rwanda; the month of mourning in the new Rwandan calendar. While the country is commemorating the 10th anniversary of the genocide, children make toys and play games. They build little cities and talk of little nations. Filmmaker Sarah Vanagt spent the easter holiday in this “children’s republic”. She focuses on a land of toys governed by genocide orphans growing up in the war-torn border zone between Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of Congo.
Credits

38 min. / DV-cam / 2005

French, Kinyarwanda, Lingala, Dutch with English subtitles

Director: Sarah Vanagt

Camera: Annemarie Lean-Vercoe

Camera in Goma (July 2003): Sarah Vanagt

Production Manager, researcher & translator: Philip Senghi Sande

Editor :Emiliano Battista

Sound Mix: Pete Connelly

Producer: Maarten Loix

Associate Producer: Karim Cham

Translator in Rwanda: Sugira Hubert

Assistant Production Manager & additional sound recording: Nshimiyimana Jean-Claude

Assistant researcher in Goma & translator: Gatambi Nicolas

Produced by Limited Adventures

With the support of Vlaams Audiovisueel Fonds and Belgische Ontwikkelingssamenwerking - DGOS

Some of the scenes of this film are presented separately as individual video loops, such as HISTORY LESSON, MONEY EXCHANGE & BORDER GAME