Sweet Dreams (2012 film)
{{Infobox film
| name = Sweet Dreams
| image =
| caption =
| director = Lisa Fruchtman
Rob Fruchtman
| producer = Lisa Fruchtman
Rob Fruchtman
Russell Long
Tiffany Schauer
| writer =
| starring = Kiki Katese
Jennie Dundas
Alexis Miesen
| music =
| cinematography = Rob Fruchtman
Lex Fletcher
| editing = Lisa Fruchtman
Rob Fruchtman
| studio = Liro Films
| distributor = International Film Circuit
| released = {{Film date|2012|07|19|Silverdocs Festival|2013|11|1|NYC theatrical release|df=y}}
| runtime = 86 minutes
| country = United States
| language = English
Kinyarwandan
| budget =
| gross =
}}
Sweet Dreams is a 2012 documentary film about the Rwandan women's drumming troupe Ingoma Nshya, which was founded in 2005 by playwright Odile "Kiki" Katese with women from both sides of the 1994 Rwandan genocide. The drumming troupe's success then led to the opening of an ice cream store in 2010, which also brings together people from both sides of the genocide. The documentary was co-directed by siblings Lisa Fruchtman and Rob Fruchtman; Lisa Fruchtman had learned of the troupe and the plans for the shop from Katese in 2009.{{cite web |last=Fox |first=Michael |title='Sweet' Beat Drives Fruchtmans' Rwanda Doc |work=SF360 |publisher=San Francisco Film Society |date=September 1, 2010 |url=http://www.sf360.org/?pageid=13009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110727200904/http://www.sf360.org/?pageid=13009 |url-status=usurped |archive-date=July 27, 2011 |accessdate=2013-12-03}}
The film has been shown at many film festivals (Mill Valley Film Festival, Ashland Independent Film Festival, IDFA Amsterdam International Documentary Film Festival, the Savannah Film and Video Festival, Silverdocs, and DOC NYC). In late 2013, the film was released to theaters in New York City, Los Angeles, and San Francisco.{{IMDb title |2280836 }}
Miriam Bale wrote in her New York Times review, "When viewers are facing the aftermath of genocide in Rwanda, in which hundreds of thousands of Tutsis were slaughtered in 1994, it’s easy to think that ice cream is a comparatively petty concern. But, thankfully, the sibling directors Lisa and Rob Fruchtman have made a nuanced and deftly edited film about a complex issue."{{cite news |title=A Little Shop of Possibilities |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2013/11/01/movies/in-sweet-dreams-rwandan-entrepreneurship.html |work=The New York Times |date=October 31, 2013 |last=Bale |first=Miriam}} Scott Foudras wrote in Variety, "Although the 1994 genocide and its aftermath have been explored extensively in both narrative and nonfiction films over the past decade (especially documentarian Anne Aghion’s remarkable suite of films culminating in 2009’s My Neighbor My Killer), Sweet Dreams nevertheless forges its own path, dwelling less on the violent crimes of the past than on the small but meaningful ways in which a once-divided people are working to rebuild the social and psychological health of their country."{{cite news |last=Foudras |first=Scott |title=Film Review: 'Sweet Dreams' |url=https://www.variety.com/2013/film/reviews/film-review-sweet-dreams-1200800701 |work=Variety |date=November 7, 2013}}
See also
- Hotel Rwanda - 2004 film directed by Terry George based on the heroic efforts of hotelkeeper Paul Rusesabagina to save hundreds of refugees during the 1994 genocide.
- My Neighbor, My Killer - 2009 documentary by Anne Aghion describing the reconciliation process in Rwanda.
References
{{reflist}}
Further reading
- {{cite web |title=Sweet Dreams, and an interview with director Rob Fruchtman |url=http://projectionreviews.blogspot.com/2013/04/sweet-dreams-and-interview-with.html |date=April 23, 2013}} Transcript of an interview with Rob Fruchtman that describes the process by which the filmmakers earned the trust of the women in Ingoma Nshya.
External links
- {{cite web |url=http://www.sweetdreamsrwanda.com |title=Sweet Dreams - A Documentary Film}} Film's official website
- {{IMDb title |2280836 }}
Category:Documentary films about the Rwandan genocide
Category:Documentary films about African music
Category:Documentary films about women in Africa
Category:2012 documentary films
Category:American documentary films
Category:Documentary films about women in music
Category:2010s English-language films