Set in Rwanda, Things ruminates on the possibility of a relationship between Africa and the West, haunted by ghosts of the past, ghosts of narratives, trauma, violence and violation, and, indeed of history.
This film pushes further Ruhorahoza’s interests in matters of reflexivity regarding representation, this time focusing on the Western gaze upon Africa. Set in Rwanda, Things ruminates on the possibility of a relationship between Africa and the West, haunted by ghosts of the past, ghosts of narratives, trauma, violence and violation, and, indeed of history, dating as far back as the primal scene of the continent’s colonial encounter with explorers. In the process, the filmmaker wonders whether, in this overdetermined context of Western discursive production on Africa, the aporia of the missionary/savage impulse is at all surmountable and, indeed, whether the possibility of pushing and potentially improving one’s society through the gaze of the Other is even imaginable.
$10 / $8 seniors & non-Harvard students/ Harvard students free
Phone: 6174963211
Email: bgravely@fas.harvard.edu
Additional time info:
Introduction by Kivu Ruhorahoza
2023/04/07 - 2023/04/07
Harvard Film Archive
Harvard Film Archive Cinematheque, Cambridge, MA 02138
Although parking in Cambridge is difficult (most of the surrounding streets have restricted parking for Cambridge residents only), metered parking on Broadway and Harvard Streets, as well as the rest of Harvard Square, is free after 8pm. Film-goers are encouraged to use public transportation, particularly the MBTA Red Line.
Film has English subtitles