It was adapted from a screenplay cowritten by george and keir pearson, and stars don cheadle and sophie okonedo as hotelier paul rusesabagina and his wife tatiana. W e chose this film because its components plot structure. In 1992, paul rusesabagina was promoted to assistant general manager of the diplomates hotel, an affiliate of the hotel des mille collines. He is a hutu man who doesnt support the hutu violence a. Hotel rwanda, released in december of 2004, is based on the true story on the life of paul rusesabagina, a hotel manager of hotel des mille collines, who saved the lives of 1,268 people in the face of genocide. Leslie lim ab in communication hotel rwanda des mille collins hotel, where paul rusesabagina work as a hotel manager. If i give a businessman 10,000 francs, what does that matter to.
None of those refugees were hurt or killed during the attacks. Two scenes stand out in my memory as particularly effective in this regard. Hotel rwanda has examples of both good and bad leadership. Hotel rwanda is a film based on the 1994 genocide in rwanda. Running battles between the hutus and tutsis led to the massacre of more than 800,000 rwandese citizens.
In one scene, one of paul and tatianas sons disappears at night, to be found later huddled speechless in a hedge. The hotel that saved hundreds from genocide world news. This movie is based on the true events of the rwandan genocide in 1994 that occurred in kigali, the capital and largest city of rwanda. The questions go in order however, there are a couple of questions where the information is introduced throughout the movie but answered at the end. On the night of april 6, 1994 pauls brotherinlaw and his wife visit the hotel to warn paul that friends have told them things would soon become very dangerous for the tutsi. As genocide ravaged rwanda in 1994, hotel manager paul rusesabagina risked his own life to save the lives of over 1,000 people. The tension between the hutu and tutsi people lead to a war in rwanda. Diversity played an important role in the decisions made by paul and the u. Here is a rwandan who faced down the militia to protect the terrorised families who had sought shelter at the fivestar hotel des mille collines in kigali. Paul rusesabagina, subject of the film hotel rwanda. Ten years ago some of the worst atrocities in the history of mankind took place in the country of rwandaand in an era of highspeed communication and round the clock news, the events went almost.
In fact, rwanda has much to teach us with regard to the current massacre in the darfur region of sudan, where an estimated 70,000 darfurians have died and another 1. Tension between hutu and tutsi ethnic groups reached a crisis point in that year, when rwandan radio announced. This is not the kind of man the camera silhouettes. Georges is a hutu extremest, a goods supplier to the hotel, and the local leader of interahamwe. In 1994 in rwanda, a million members of the tutsi tribe were killed by members of the hutu tribe in a massacre that took place while the world looked away. As a hotel manager in rwanda, paul rusesabagina sheltered more than a thousand people, saving their lives during the 1994 genocide. Day lush tropical gardens, peacocks wander the wellmanicured lawns,an exotic african paradise. The movie hotel rwanda, is about the massacre in 1994 that is carried out in rwanda after a group of rebels, hutu, decides to attack the tutsis. Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons. Hotel rwanda falls into this genre despite the hero, paul rusesabagina, being african.
If you would like to view hotel rwanda as a class, please call 3105868500 for theater group sales information. Comprehension and discussion activities for the movie. Xolani mali policeman, don cheadle paul rusesabagina, desmond dube dube, hakeem kaekazim george rutaganda, tony kgoroge gregoire, rosie motene receptionist, neil mccarthy jean jacques, mabutho kid sithole head chef, nick nolte colonel oliver, fana mokoena general bizimungu, jeremiah ndlovu old guard. The film, which has been called an african schindlers list, documents rusesabaginas acts to save the lives of his family and more than a thousand other refugees, by granting them shelter in the besieged hotel des mille collines. Paul rusesabagina is currently serving as a diplomat to his country rwanda as well as other countries. The story is about paul russesabinga who is a manager of a hotel. Georges rutaganda does not like pauls marriage to tatiana. Paul bribes military men with money and alcohol so he and his tutsi family and also the. Paul rusesabagina, the acting manager for the luxurious hotel des milles collines, took in more than 1200 refugees into the hotel in effort to save them from the massacre. It is the story of a hotel manager who saved the lives of. The massacre is a result of the hutu tribes prejudice and discrimination of the tutsi tribe and the worlds lack of intervention. The following year, paul started the hotel rwanda rusesabagina foundation hrrf to provide financial assistance to the women and children affected by the genocides in rwanda and other african.
There is a problem because pauls wife is a tutsi and the hutus have set out to kill the tutsi. Also, a hotel rwandacompanion book is available at bookstores or from the publisher, newmarket press, in february 2005. Answer the following questions as you watch the movie. Hotel rwanda is an excruciatinglytruthful and harsh docudrama addressing the rwandan genocide in 1994. The whole plot of the film revolves around two tribes in rwanda, the hutus and the tutsis, and from there we can see different social and psychological issues that came about as a result of the tension between the two tribes. Hotel rwanda is the frequently harrowing story of a man trying to make sense out of chaos. Now, 20 years on, he says history is repeating itself. Comprehension and discussion activities for the movie hotel rwanda this module has been designed to accompany the film hotel rwanda 2004.
Learn vocabulary, terms, and more with flashcards, games, and other study tools. Paul ruesabagina is the manager of sabena owned hotel des mille collines. Hotel rwanda tackles moral issue that implicates us all. At the end of the 100 days, nearly a million people were murdered, most with machetes, but the refuges under paul s protection were unharmed. If true, the story of paul rusesabagina, as told in the 2004 film hotel rwanda, would be truly inspirational. Paul is played with restraint and dignity by american don cheadle, his african accent here a little more convincing than his english cockney in oceans 11 and 12. Paul rusesabagina, the man whose account of the 1994 rwanda genocide is recounted in the movie hotel rwanda, came under fire this month during a lecture he was giving at the birminghamsouthern college. Things begin to change when refugees pour in from the surrounding areas, and paul is forced to house them, at least until the u. This is examined by looking at the leaders knowbedo mentalities and group dynamics. Helmer george mixes, surehandedly, the personal hopes and fears of paul and his family as they struggle to survive amid the carnage being inflicted on the tutsis and any of their hutu supporters. This book is very graphic because the differences between tutsi and hutu lead to mass amount this is a breathtaking story of the problems that were. About midway through hotel rwanda, as the hutu slaughter of tutsis escalates in the rwandan capital of kigali in the summer of 1994, western reporters capture scenes of genocide on tape.
A valet opens the front door of the hotel and looks shocked. Hotel rwanda des mille collins hotel, where paul rusesabagina work as a hotel manager. Hotel rwanda by paul rusesabagina read a free literary. In july of 1994 the hutu government collapsed and the rwandan patriotic front, a tutsi political force, declared a ceasefire. The 2004 film hotel rwanda recounts the efforts of hotelier paul rusesabagina to save his family and others during the 1994 genocide in the central african nation of rwanda. Hotel rwanda is a story presented through the hutu hero, paul rusesabagina, and his plight for the survival of nearly 1 268 refugees in the mille collines hotel during the 1994 rwandan genocide. Rex features i f true, the story of paul rusesabagina, as told in the 2004 film hotel rwanda, would be truly inspirational. After the belgian conquest, the rwandans were split into two ethnicgroups. Paul is the manager of a french owned hotel in rwanda, and is hutu. While there may be horrendous fighting outside the walls, he attempts to maintain the dignity of the hotel by treating everything as normal. In 1994, as genocidal violence swept rwanda, the fourstar hotel became a sanctuary for 700 tutsis whose lives were saved largely by the guile of the manager, paul rusesabagina. In the midst of rwandas 1994 genocide, when machetewielding hutu extremists murdered 800,000 tutsis and moderate hutus in 100 days, paul rusesabagina turned the hotel he managed in kigali, the. The man is named paul rusesabagina, and he is played by don cheadle as a man of quiet, steady competence in a time of chaos.
Hotel rwanda, a film directed by terry george in 2004, is a story based on the tragedy that occurred ten years prior. Hotel rwanda also can inform our actions in the present. Views on paul as a hero why does the protagonist in the film hotel rwanda 2004 risk his life for others when so. Based on the rwandan genocide, which occurred during the spring of 1994, the film documents rusesabaginas efforts to save the lives of his family and more than a thousand. Also, a hotel rwanda companion book is available at bookstores or from the publisher, newmarket press, in february 2005. The two conflicting groups were known as the hutus and tutsis. Teacher preparation hotel rwanda deals with a range of issues that are very. Hotel rwanda is a 2004 drama film directed by terry george. Hotel rwanda is a finely crafted film, using 15,000 african extras to recreate the crowded streets and back alleys where so many perished. A jubilant paul rusesabagina don cheadle, who has been sheltering tutsis in a luxury hotel frequented by westerners, assumes the broadcast of such images will prompt immediate western. Hotel rwanda leadership by stephanie lovett on prezi. Paul risks everything by hiding and giving food and shelter to over a thousand tutsi refugees in the hotel he manages.
Back in 1994 when the most heinous massacre took place in rwanda, paul was serving as a hotel manager in the capital kigali. For many viewers, it was the first time that they had heard about the genocide in rwanda. He is a hutu who doesnt support the hutu violence and rebellion against tutsi. Individual heroism or interconnectedness in the portrayal of paul. Hotel rwanda is based on real characters and events that took place in rwanda in 1994. Paul bribes military men with money and alcohol so he and his tutsi family and also the refugees will be protected. The film hotel rwanda is a very touching and at the same time disturbing film. The war between hutus and tutsis is highly fuelled by bribery and corruption that mar the political scene in the country.
This story starts with a hotel manager of the hotel des mille collines called paul rusesabagina. It is the story of a hotel manager who saved the lives of 1,200 people by being, essentially, a very good hotel manager. Hotel rwanda is a powerful and moving film about the genocide in rwanda in 1994. Tatiana and paul married two years later and she adopted his children. See more ideas about books, books to read and reading. Kinzer all the shahs men has penned a hagiographic account of rwandan president paul kagame, the tutsi refugee who organized the rwandan military front in 1994 and helped halt the genocide in rwanda. Historpedia paul rusesabagina and his efforts in the. Genre, rating and length this film is a biographydramahistory according to imdb and it runs 121 minutes. Paul risked his own life and that of his family to shelter tutsi. In 2004, hotel rwanda was released to high critical acclaim. Hotel rwanda is a 2004 historical drama film about the hotelier paul rusesabagina during the rwandan genocide of 1994.
Pauls brotherinlaw tells them of a signal, cut the tall trees, that will be broadcast over the. Terry george could have chosen to make a documentary about what happened but instead he focused on the story of paul rusesabagina, manager at the belgianowned mille collines hotel in the capital, kigali. The surprising true story and why it matters today benbella books, edouard kayihura attempts to set the record straight. Paul with the help of the united nation is doing their best to prevent conflict from occuring.
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