~ Director's Biography
Lee Isaac Chung
A son of Korean immigrants, Chung grew up on a small farm in rural Arkansas, and then attended Yale University to study Biology. At Yale, with exposure to art cinema in his senior year, he dropped his plans for medical school and pursued filmmaking. MUNYURANGABO is his first feature film. He resides in New York with his wife Valerie, and manages Almond Tree Films, a production company he founded with his collaborators, Samuel Anderson and Jenny Lund.
~ Actor's Biographies
Jeff Rutagengwa (as Munyurangabo)
Jeff became an orphan of the genocide when his father went missing during the war. At the age of eleven, he traveled to Kigali, where he lived on the streets, supporting himself through petty theft. After several failed attempts to educate himself (the task proved to be financially impossible), Jeff began working as a porter at Kigali’s oldest public market in Kimisagara. As a result, he managed to secure housing in one of the neighborhood ghettos. In 2006, he received the good news that his father hadn’t died in the genocide and was living as a refugee in Uganda. They reunited that year.
Eric Dorunkundiye (as Sangwa)
After his father died in the genocide, Eric moved from his village to escape the difficult living conditions at home. He works as a porter at a Kimisagara market, lives in the neighborhood’s ghettos, and helps support his mother and siblings who remain in the countryside. After working on “Munyurangabo”, Eric hopes for more opportunities to act in Rwandan films.
Edouard B Uwayo (as the Poet)
Uwayo is a native of Rwanda’s Western region, where he lived on a hillside farm. As the only remaining man in his family, he moved to Kigali to find work and support his mothers and sisters. In Kigali, an artist discovered Uwayo’s creative talents and mentored him in drama and poetry. Uwayo is now widely recognized in his country for his artistic endeavors, and in 2006 he was appointed by the Rwandan ministry to serve as a poet laureate for Rwanda’s Liberation Day official ceremony. “Munyurangabo” features the poems that Uwayo delivered for the event.
~ Credits
Cast
| Munyurangabo | Jeff Rutagengwa |
| Sangwa | Eric Ndorunkundiye |
| Sangwa’s mother | Narcicia Nyirabucyeye |
| Sangwa’s father | Jean Marie Nkurykiyinka |
| Gwiza | Jean Pierre Harerimana Mulomda |
| Poet | Edouard B Uwayo |
| Ngabo’s father | Etienne Rugazora |
| Father’s killers | Pierre Claver Kayitsinga |
Crew
| Director | Lee Isaac Chung |
| Producer | Lee Isaac Chung |
| Editor | Lee Isaac Chung |
| Cinematographer | Lee Isaac Chung |
| Executives Producers | Hand Gil Chung, Robert Liang |
| Co-Producers | Samuel Anderson, Jenny Lund |
| Associate Producers | Fidele Kanamugire, Daddy Youssouf Ruhorahoza |
| Writers | Samuel Anderson, Lee Isaac Chung |
| Script Advisor | Noel Munyurangabo |
| Sound Engineer | Jenny Lund |
| Original Poetry | Edouard B Uwayo |
| Original Solo Music | Claire Wibabara |
| Piannist | Yu Franz Mo Cheung |
| Art Director | Jean Kwezi |
| Translator | Emmanuel Ahishakiye |
