Children of the Rwandan genocide face a unique stigma 30 years later

In Rwanda, 2,000 to 10,000 adults are estimated to have been conceived through rapes that occurred during the 1994 genocide of the Tutsi ethnic group. Despite the country’s many efforts to reckon with the extraordinary pains of its recent past, these individuals, now in their early 30s, often face silence and stigma about their parentage, leaving them to grapple with their difficult truth alone. The Things We Don’t Say captures group counselling sessions led by Émilienne Mukansoro, a psychotherapist and survivor of the genocide, to help these Rwandans navigate their trauma, attempt to mend difficult family relationships, and endeavour to find a hard-earned hope in the process. The London-based filmmaker Ornella Mutoni, whose own family fled Rwanda when she was an infant, documents these stories with the sensitive care they so deserve. Through her skilful filmmaking and the candid bravery of her subjects, Mutoni crafts a powerful portrait of intergenerational trauma, and the difficult yet vital work of trying to heal it.