Petit Pays premieres in Europe

The long-awaited feature film Petit Pays can be seen in European cinemas from this month. The film is based on the book of the same name by the French-Rwandan rapper and author Gaël Faye.

The film is about a group of five boys between 11 and 14 years old who grow up in the Burundian capital Bujumbura. The story is told by one of the boys, Gabriel (or Gaby), the main character of the book. He was born in Bujumbura from a French father and a Rwandan mother, just like Gaël Faye. Petit Pays is the author’s memory of the civil war in Burundi in 1993 and the genocide on the Tutsi across the border in Rwanda in 1994.

“The intention was to tell our own stories as people from this region; Rwanda, Burundi and DR Congo. We shouldn’t wait for other people to write books or make movies about us. And I think now is the time for this generation and young artists to tell their own story, ”said Gaël during a preview of the film in Kigali last Saturday.

In Europe, the film will premiere on March 18. Click here Click here for the trailer.