Mieux-s-entendre

To better getting on
African women are increasingly taking up a pen to tell a different story of Africa. The soft, firm voice of Burundi playwright Marie-Louise Sibazuri speaks out in the Great Lakes region.  From her library in Louvain-la-Neuve, she writes radio plays in kirundi, broadcast by Studio Ijambo in Bujumbura. Umubanyi niwe muryango (Our neighbours are our family) is the most popular radio programme in Burundi. Twice a week for twenty-five minutes, she recounts the daily life of two families, one Hutu, the other Tutsi. The programme explores their lives from day-to-day, showing how they maintain their friendship despite crises and problems. Since 1997, Marie-Louise Sibazuri has been using this radio programme to try to help break down barriers between Hutus and Tutsis, for the construction of durable peace. Her programmes are more than a story they depict social guidelines to convince listeners that there is always a way to get along.

Directed by: Jean-Charles L’AMI
Production: KAOS Films
Co-production: Ministère belge des affaires étrangères
Distributor(s): KAOS Films
Script: Jean-Charles L’AMI

Format: Beta Digital
Duration: 52’
Version(s): French
Sous-titres: French  / English  / Dutch
Released: 2004
Place of shooting: Burundi
Genre: Portrait, Society