Examines the socio-economic impact of the unexpected growth of Benaco, Tanzania, where roads from Uganda cross those that run from Kenya to Zaire (via Rwanda). In 1994, thousands of bodies came floating down the Kagera River. Within days, half a million refugees had settled there.

At an intersection of roads from Uganda to Tanzania and from Kenya via Rwanda to Zaire, some half million refugees from Tutsi-Hutu violence stream in to create a boomtown called Benaco. The newcomers whose roles in the Rwandan genocide are unknown mean big business and a wave of petty crime. A single white wedding dress, rented out to refugee brides, becomes an emblem of innocence and hope painting a remarkable portrait of humanity uprooted, but still striving for some semblance of home.

Holland 1997 60min 35mm
Dirs: H Molenaar & J van Wijk


FESTIVALS / AWARDS

1997 | Dutch Academy Awards 1997
* Gouden Beeld Best Social Political Documentary