A group of Rwandan students won an international award at the International Students’ Film Festival held in Nigeria, thanks to a film they produced about a child with a disability who is rejected by his parent but later becomes a celebrity.
The film, titled “Forgotten Frame,” won the award on November 22, 2025. It was created by more than 40 students from Mount Kigali University and they formed a group named CINEMATIC SYNDICATE. It was directed by their lecturer, Apollo Dusabimana O’Keefe, who is also the Secretary-General of the Rwanda Film Federation and who accompanied them to the festival.
The film portrays a child born with a deformity whose parent rejects him, unaware that the child has a talent that will make him famous. Migambi Elite Alex, the screenwriter, said the award inspired him to work even harder, especially since it was his first time contributing to a project of this scale.
He said: “It’s joy, it’s motivation. To win an African-level award the first time you work on such a project while others from different African countries returned without one is inspiring. Representing your country and bringing back an award is joyful and motivating. It shows that things are possible; we can do even greater work.”
Nsabimana Elissa said He never imagined a student film he contributed to would receive recognition at the African level, but their director, with more than 20 years of experience in the industry, showed them that nothing is impossible.
He said: “It showed us that if we put effort into other projects, they can produce even greater results. It showed us that hard work pays off. I am going to invest even more effort, including more research into how we should work going forward.”
When the film was screened in Nigeria, members of the judging panel were deeply moved, some even crying, which, according to Dusabimana, showed the film’s strong impact.
He said: “It touched the hearts of the judges. We were competing in the humanitarian category. Everyone cried. When you see the jury in tears, you know the story has touched them. Our film came out on top because of the message it carried.”
Dusabimana added: “What is clear is that Rwanda has reached an impressive level. There were around 250 films submitted from different universities. The three days we spent there were intense; the competition was very tough. What set us apart is that we focused on the everyday African experience, which is shared across the continent.”
The film also opened doors for the students, helping them secure a partnership with the leadership of Nigeria’s film actors’ association, allowing renowned Nigerian actors to come to Rwanda to train them.
The lecturer explained: “We signed a partnership with Nollywood for training opportunities, so in the future, trainers from Nigeria will come to teach us, and it would be great if we could also go there for classes to help grow Rwanda’s film industry. We believe the collaboration will begin next year.”
Producing and editing the film until its final version took 10 months. Dusabimana explained that the project cost between 6 million and 8.5 million Rwandan francs.
