Archive for the ‘News’ Category
We Remember Them
During this 19th anniversary commemoration period of the Rwanda genocide, which began on April 6, 1994, we remember the victims, hundreds of thousands of Tutsis slaughtered alongside tens of thousands of pacifist Hutus
Commemorating the genocide in Rwanda
Commemorating the 19th anniversary of the Rwanda genocide with a tribute to a young victim of the slaughter. Coexist is a documentary and educational outreach project in use by more than 3,000 schools and community organizations in 50 states and more than a dozen countries.
You did it! Thank you!
Donations to Coexist are tax deductible via the Center for Independent Documentary 501(c)(3) . . . More than 280 donors pledged more than $20,000 in the last 30 days as part of a successful all-or-nothing online fundraising campaign. Check out the video that launched our successful campaign: Coexist is a documentary and educational outreach project [...]
Coexist campaign to prevent othering & bullying gaining momentum
Donations to Coexist are tax deductible via the Center for Independent Documentary 501(c)(3) . . . Check out the video that launched our successful campaign: Coexist is a documentary and educational outreach project in use by more than 3,000 schools and community organizations in 50 states and more than a dozen countries. Our project includes [...]
Hurricane Sandy prompts question: “How do I really react to extreme situations?”
Please support Coexist today as we work toward a fundraising goal of $20,000 in an all-or-nothing campaign! The deadline is February 3rd, 2013. Please visit our indiegogo campaign page now: http://igg.me/p/252105/x/10673 . . . Coexist is a documentary and educational outreach project in use by more than 3,000 schools and community organizations in 50 states [...]
Why didn’t I learn this before?
Coexist is a documentary and educational outreach project in use by more than 3,000 schools and community organizations in 50 states and more than a dozen countries. Our project includes a 40-minute film and a four-lesson Teacher’s Guide, which can be used in the classroom and in support of positive school climate campaigns, to counter [...]
Tolerance is language
Coexist is a documentary and educational outreach project in use by more than 3,000 schools and community organizations in 50 states and more than a dozen countries. Our project includes a 40-minute film and a four-lesson Teacher’s Guide, which can be used in the classroom and in support of positive school climate campaigns, to counter [...]
Once a Killer Always a Killer?
Coexist is a documentary and educational outreach project in use by more than 3,000 schools and community organizations in 50 states and more than a dozen countries. Our project includes a 40-minute film and a four-lesson Teacher’s Guide, which can be used in the classroom and in support of positive school climate campaigns, to counter [...]
On the Road with Social Studies Teachers
Coexist is a documentary and educational outreach project in use by more than 3,000 schools and community organizations in 50 states and more than a dozen countries. Our project includes a 40-minute film and a four-lesson Teacher’s Guide, which can be used in the classroom and in support of positive school climate campaigns. . . [...]
Introducing Coexist
Coexist is a documentary and educational outreach project which includes a 40-minute film, Viewer’s Guide, curricular and technical support, which constitute a ready-to-use toolkit for incorporation into programs on anti-violence, conflict resolution, anti-bullying and other standards-aligned curricula by school districts, youth development organizations, colleges and universities . . . Coexist in the Classroom As we [...]
Stopping Hate on HMD
Coexist is a documentary and educational outreach project which includes a 40-minute film, Viewer’s Guide, curricular and technical support, which constitute a ready-to-use toolkit for incorporation into programs on anti-violence, conflict resolution, anti-bullying and other standards-aligned curricula by school districts, youth development organizations, colleges and universities. Observing Holocaust Memorial Day Our team is humbled to [...]
Coexist featured on California radio program
The Coexist team was just interviewed ahead of the San Francisco Bay Area premiere of Coexist this Friday, November 18th at 8pm at La Peña Cultural Center in Berkeley. Event info is available here: http://www.lapena.org/event/1893 To listen to the interview hit play below, wait a few moments for the show to load and then click [...]
Coexist in the Show Me Justice Film Festival
Check out Coexist at the Show Me Justice Film Festival in Warrensburg, Missouri on Saturday October 15th at 3:30pm. Schedule here: http://www.ucmo.edu/filmfest/schedule/ What are viewers saying about Coexist? Audience members yearn for more time to unpack the many messages of Coexist. Here are recent comments about both the film and the debriefing discussions facilitated by [...]
New Feedback on Coexist
What are viewers saying about Coexist? Audience members yearn for more time to unpack the many messages of Coexist. Here are recent comments about both the film and the debriefing discussions facilitated by members of the Coexist team: . . . “This is an excellent film. Of the various films I have seen on the [...]
Praise For Coexist
What are viewers saying about Coexist? Audience members yearn for more time to unpack the many messages of Coexist. Here are recent comments about both the film and the debriefing discussions facilitated by members of the Coexist team: . . . “Coexist was carefully and sensitively made, drawing in a variety of narratives, beliefs, and [...]
Praise for Coexist
What are viewers saying about Coexist? Audience members yearn for more time to unpack the many messages of Coexist. Here are recent comments about both the film and the debriefing discussions facilitated by members of the Coexist team: . . . “Coexist was carefully and sensitively made, drawing in a variety of narratives, beliefs, and [...]
International Radio Broadcast
Coexist is being featured on the national radio program Voices or Our World. Follow the link to listen now! Would you like to organize a screening? This month we have screened for teens and young adults at school, in youth religious groups, and at their workplace. Contact us to set up a screening for your [...]
New Film Fest Selection
Coexist has just been selected to screen at the Central Florida Film Festival in Orlando. The screening will be held on Labor Day weekend. More details to come… Coexist is a proud nominee for Best Documentary at the African Movie Academy Awards! Winners were revealed live in Yenegoa, Bayelsa State, Nigeria on Sunday March 27th. [...]
African Oscars Photos
Coexist is a proud nominee for Best Documentary at the African Movie Academy Awards! Winners were revealed live in Yenegoa, Bayelsa State, Nigeria on Sunday March 27th. Director Adam Mazo was invited to attend. Look for pictures from the AMAAs on our facebook page. . . . Check out Coexist in the Huffington Post! We’ve [...]
African Movie Academy Award Nominee!
Coexist is now nominated for Best Documentary at the African Movie Academy Awards! Winners will be revealed live in Bayelsa Nigeria on Sunday March 27th. Director Adam Mazo has been invited to attend and will report news from Nigeria here on our site. . . . Check out Coexist in the Huffington Post! We’ve often [...]
Check out Coexist in the Huffington Post! We’ve often been asked how our documentary film, Coexist, can be used in the classroom. Since we are documentarians we thought it would be best to show you! Check out our new video, and if you like it, please share it with friends: What are [...]
New Video: Coexist in the Classroom
We’ve often been asked how our documentary film, Coexist, can be used in the classroom. Since we are documentarians we thought it would be best to show you! Check out our new video, and if you like it, please share it with friends: What are viewers saying about Coexist? Audience members yearn for more time [...]
Coexist has just been named a finalist at the Africa World Film Festival. Winners will be announced in May following screenings of the finalists in Saint Louis, MO, Barbados, and Cameroon. . . . Would you like to organize a screening? Contact us to make it happen! UPCOMING SCREENINGS (scroll down for past events) MARCH [...]
Coexisting in School
. . . TO ORDER COEXIST EDUCATIONAL DVDs CLICK HERE . . . Check out the latest news on Coexist, featured in the Lowell Sun. Coexist has just been awarded an Honorable Mention in the documentary category at the Metropolitan Film Festival of New York! Through Coexist we want audiences to become activists in their [...]
The World Premiere of Coexist
400+ guests gathered for the World Premiere of Coexist at Temple Israel in Boston on Saturday November 6th. They saw the 40-minute film which tells the stories of Rwandan genocide survivors, perpetrators, and bystanders. Reverend Hurmon Hamilton of Roxbury Presbyterian introduced the film saying that it is as much about “them” as it is about [...]
Thank You!
We’ve just premiered Coexist to a packed house in Boston tonight and we want to thank everyone who came out and everyone who made the event possible. We hope our message is clear, this is the beginining, not the end of our work. We look forward to working with you to improve our communities and [...]
Coexist Premieres TODAY!
Today we will premiere the documentary film Coexist. This is the culmination of 2+ years of work and thousands of hours of work from hundreds of volunteers, donors, supporters, and the incredible contribution made by Rwandans who appear in the film. We’re excited to announce that GBIO President Rev. Hurmon Hamilton will introduce the film. [...]
Coexist Premieres Tomorrow!
Hundreds of people have sent in their RSVPs for the World Premiere of Coexist, TOMORROW November 6th. We’re excited to announce that GBIO President Rev. Hurmon Hamilton will introduce the film. We would love to welcome you, but space is limited! We hope to have a seat for everyone who wants to come, but we [...]
Coexist Premiering This Week!
Hundreds of people have sent in their RSVPs for the World Premiere of Coexist, this Saturday, November 6th. We’re excited to announce that GBIO President Rev. Hurmon Hamilton will introduce the film. We would love to welcome you, but space is limited! We hope to have a seat for everyone who wants to come, but [...]
The Coexist Premiere
. . . We are thrilled to announce the premiere of Coexist is scheduled for Saturday, November 6th at 6:30pm. We’ll be debuting our documentary in a beautiful large space in Boston and everyone is welcome to attend the free event. It will be a festive action-oriented evening. Hors d’oeuvres will be available. . . [...]
Four Screenings and Scores of New Friends
Yesterday, at the Youth Summit we screened the film to a group of thirty youth from all over North America, as well as Kenya. I posted seven questions on the walls of the room and asked the youth to “walk the walls” and decide which question most resonated with them. Each wrote their name on [...]
Learning what it means to be a Winnipegger
Day 2 in Winnipeg at the Peace & Justice Studies Association Conference Elders from Winnipeg’s Indigenous Community led us in an opening ceremony at Thunderbird House, a beautiful, round sacred space for dialogue that is home to many gatherings and activities of native peoples. We learned of the push to create a Truth and Reconciliation [...]
Just Touched Down in Winnipeg
Adam and I braved the head winds this morning and made our way to Western Canada where, starting tomorrow, we will screen Coexist at the Peace and Justice Studies Association Annual Conference. This is PJSA’s 8th Annual Conference and this year’s theme is “Building Bridge, Crossing Borders: Gender, Identity, and Security in the Search for [...]
Coexist accepted by Artivist Film Festival in Hollywood
We’re excited to share some great news. Coexist has been accepted by the 2010 Artivist Film Festival. Our documentary will screen during the festival at the historic Egyptian theater in Hollywood, California. The festival runs from November 30th-December 4th. Our screening date is TBA. What’s Artivist? “The success of ARTIVIST can be attributed to its [...]
Announcing the Premiere of Coexist
We are thrilled to announce the premiere of Coexist is scheduled for Saturday, November 6th. We’ll be debuting our documentary in a beautiful large space in Boston and everyone is welcome to attend the free event. It will be a festive action-oriented evening. Details will follow in the weeks to come. Please save the date. [...]
Screening Event!
On Tuesday, July 13th join us in Boston for the first public rough cut screening of Coexist. The film is nearly complete and this will be the last chance to see it before our premiere later this year. Coincidentally this is also the date that we departed for Rwanda last year to shoot Coexist. So [...]
It doesn’t happen overnight
At this moment in April with the Rwandan genocide hours from erupting, the reasons hundreds of thousands of innocent people would be slaughtered were not clear to outsiders. 16 years later it is clear the killings didn’t break out because of a lone spark, or a plane crash. What prompts thousands of people to dehumanize [...]
Thank You!
We are truly thrilled to announce that Coexist has earned two major grants, beginning with a $25,000 challenge grant coming from the Germeshausen Foundation. The Boston-based foundation supports Harvard’s Women and Public Policy Program, Boston’s PBS affiliate WGBH-producer of shows including FRONTLINE, Yale University, and Peace Games. Matching a portion of that challenge is the [...]
Why Coexist?
When hate persists, how will you coexist? It’s a question each of us face in our lives whether dealing with name calling and bullying, teasing and harassment, hate crimes, or even genocide. In the documentary film, Coexist we aim to stimulate discussion among people everywhere about the need to coexist. Coexist, is the evolution of [...]
“They are still killing”
Huye, Rwanda 2 August 09 Domitilie breaks down into tears describing how she found the body of her husband Paul, hacked to death near their home in Huye, Rwanda. Paul Rutayisire survived the genocide that ended in 1994. A gang of murderers killed him in October 2007. After fighting back tears she said, ” Whenever [...]
Inside a Rwandan Prison
Kigali, Rwanda Guards armed with semiautomatic weapons struggle to unlock a heavy steel door before finally opening it, unleashing a burst of joyful music from an all male chorus wearing bright orange and pink. A 5-piece band sounding much like Rusted Root tries vainly to excite the crowd full of thieves, killers and orchestrators of [...]
Building Reconciliation
Pacifique uses a machete to chop wood to stoke the fire for lunch while a few feet away the man who killed her brother and sister thrusts a shovel into wet cement being used to finish construction of her house. This is what reconciliation looks like for many villagers in Rwanda after the genocide here [...]
What reconciliation looks like
Jean Gihana calmly admits that he armed and directed a band of killers in his neighborhood during the Rwandan genocide. Confessing got him out of prison early, and today he counts survivors as his friends. “For the one person who I killed, I have apologized to his family.” Jean said in an interview outside a [...]
A Survivor’s Fear & Hope
“I don’t know what is in other people’s hearts.” Fifi explained to us, and then nodded somberly, yes, the genocide could happen again. Fifi is the only survivor of the genocide from her family. It is clear she is fearful, “I have to be vigilant. There aren’t police officers to protect everyone.” She lives alone, [...]
6,000 victims, 12 survivors
Charles Mugabe should not be alive. Now he spends his summer vacations guiding visitors through the church turned memorial where he watched his twin brother die. He witnessed a killer decapitating a woman with a machete, hid for 3 days in piles of bodies and then escaped killers for 3 weeks by swimming through swamps. [...]
Greetings from Rwanda
Hundreds of jubilant Rwandans were blasting air horns, cheering, and dancing greeted the Reconciliation’s Reach at the Kigali international airport today. Boys with bright green wigs and gold jerseys alongside men with elaborate masks and children pounding drums all stood by as we exited the airport into the 80 degree dry, dusty sunshine. While the [...]
Documentary Team Leaving for Rwanda
UPDATE: Our team is leaving for Rwanda beginning Sunday July 12th, 2009-August 11th. Come back here for updates. — The Fourth of July is a time for celebration of liberation, quality time with family and friends and good food… in Rwanda. 15 years ago on America’s birthday in 1994 is the date many Rwandans point [...]
Heading to Rwanda
The Fourth of July is a time for celebration of liberation, quality time with family and friends and good food… in Rwanda. 15 years ago on America’s birthday in 1994 is the date many Rwandans point to as the turning point in their national nightmare. On July 4th, 1994 exiled Rwandan fighters took over the [...]
The Final Countdown
When we celebrate our independence across America on this Fourth of July, Rwandans will observe the 15th anniversary of the liberation of their capital, Kigali, and the beginning of the end of the genocide, a 100 day systematic slaughter of 1,000,000 human beings. This horrible chapter in the history of humanity is creating an unlikely [...]
Great news!
Today, your support for Reconciliation’s Reach has led to a major grant award from the Germeshausen Foundation in Boston. The trustees believe in our mission of preventing violence and managing conflict and have generously donated $10,000 to support our efforts. This grant brings us one significant step closer to sending our filmmaking team to Rwanda [...]
Boston Students Find Meaning in Rwanda’s Lessons
“Learning about Rwanda… it gives people the opportunity to open their eyes about things that are going on in our neighborhoods (in the United States) so we can buckle up and make change. So, I think it’s very important to learn it.” High School senior Maceyo Branch reacted to seeing a preview of Reconciliation’s Reach [...]
“We Have All Been Hurt”
“Each one of us knows what it is like both to be wronged and to commit wrong against another,” wrote Jordan J. Ballor in a recent review of “As We Forgive” a book which explores the process of forgiveness and reconciliation in response to the Rwandan genocide in 1994. The notion that Rwandans can teach [...]
The Pain of April
15 years ago this month years of tension, violence, and hatred exploded into genocide in Rwanda. For millions of Rwandans, April will always be a month of pain. In our initial investigation for our documentary film project Reconciliation’s Reach one survivor, Felesta Mukasangwa said to us, “Whenever April comes, I remember what happened to me, [...]
Thank You for Supporting Reconciliation’s Reach
So many generous people came out to our benefit concert in Boston to support our documentary film project Reconciliation’s Reach, last night. Thank you for visiting our site and a special thank you to those who joined us at the event. Your support is testament to the fact that the lessons Rwandans can teach us [...]
Thank You!
Hundreds of people came out to our benefit concert in Boston to support our documentary film project Reconciliation’s Reach, last night. Thank you for visiting our site and a special thank you to those who joined us at the event. We will share pictures with you soon. Your support is testament to the fact that [...]
TONIGHT: Rock Out for Rwanda
Our big benefit concert is tonight, Thursday March 26th in downtown Boston and the prizes keep rolling in. We are happy to share that we will be raffling off tickets for a New England Patriots regular season game on top of all the other great items already donated (complete prize list here). So please join [...]
Talking Reconciliation @ Broccoli Hall
As we prepare for our benefit concert event on Thursday March 26th, we’re talking about the power of reconciliation with high school students. “We’re all on this rock together.” That’s the reason a high school student at Corwin-Russell School at Broccoli Hall gave for why reconciliation in Rwanda is important and relevant in his life. [...]
Rock Out for Reconciliation’s Reach
As we prepare for our benefit concert event on Thursday March 26th, reconciliation is on the minds of world leaders everywhere. Pope Benedict the XVI will visit Africa for the first time as leader of the Catholic church next week. His mission? “The first trip to Africa is a trip of hope and overall reconciliation,” [...]
Buzz Word: Reconciliation
Everywhere you look reconciliation is in the news and on the minds of world leaders right now. This week Reuters reports that a dozen Palestinian groups began a dialogue with the goal of reuniting Palestinians in Gaza and the West Bank. In Afghanistan’s troubled Helmand province, Governor Gulbag Mangal told the BBC the keys to [...]
A Plan for Peace in Sudan
Today the world may have witnessed a breakthrough that could finally lead to an end to the genocide in Darfur. It has been widely reported that the Sudanese government reached a cease-fire deal with a leading rebel group fighting to stop the government’s genocidal mission. While the deal is not comprehensive and leaves much room [...]
Announcing: Rock Out for “Reconciliation’s Reach”
We are happy to announce the opportunity for those of you in the Boston area to Rock Out for Reconciliation’s Reach. Making a documentary film overseas is an expensive venture and we need your support to make it happen. So we have put together a night full of fun complete with a great lineup of [...]
Genocide Orchestrator Sentenced
A United Nations tribunal sent the chief orchestrator of the Rwandan genocide to prison for the rest of his life for crimes against humanity on December 18th, 2008. Colonel Theoneste Bagosora was involed in peace talks outside Rwanda in the early 1990s but grew tired of the process. The indictment against him said he was [...]
