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A profile of Kenyan-born videographer Patrick Mureithi, who took a huge leap of faith in order to do something he passionately believed in: produce a documentary about reconciliation efforts in Rwanda following the 1994 genocide.
RANDY: Sometimes, “courage” means maintaining one’s faith and convictions in the face of the unknown.
PATRICK MUREITHI: Courage takes faith. I’d rather do this and struggle, than work another job and be “comfortable”--because I don’t want to look back and think I had an opportunity to make a great difference… and I didn’t take it.
RANDY: That’s Patrick Mureithi, who calls himself an “aspiring” documentary filmmaker, talking about his decision to produce the documentary “Icyizere: Hope,” which deals with a remarkable workshop involving survivors and perpetrators of the 1994 genocide in the African country of Rwanda. A native of Kenya, Patrick Mureithi came from a solid middle-class family, several of whom--like him--attended Missouri State University.
PATRICK: My parents really sacrificed to make sure that all four of their children got top-notch education.
RANDY: Patrick majored in Mass Media while he was here, and worked at KSMU as a student. But videography and photojournalism were what really captured his imagination--in particular, producing documentaries. After graduation in 2001, Patrick worked as a videographer at KY-3 before deciding to freelance. But in 2004, Patrick watched a documentary on PBS called “Ghosts of Rwanda,” about the Rwandan genocide of April 1994, when Hutus massacred more than a million Tutsis--and moderate Hutus--in the space of 100 days. He really hadn’t thought much about it at the time the strife in Rwanda was actually taking place.
PATRICK: When the genocide occurred in April of 1994, I was 18 years old--a typical teenager. I was OBLIVIOUS to the fact that there was a genocide going on… it was a “civil war”--that was the way I understood it.
RANDY: “Ghosts of Rwanda” was a MAJOR eye-opener for Patrick.
PATRICK: I can recall sitting on the couch and being unable to move. I was just totally mortified--I couldn’t believe that human beings could do that to each other. Neither could I believe that it happened so close to where I lived--
RANDY: Two countries away.
PATRICK: Rwanda was just two countries away, yes, yes. So it’s like something happening on the edge of Oklahoma and you have no idea. And I actually fell into a depression. I was shaken.
RANDY: About a year and a half later, Patrick Mureithi learned about workshops in Rwanda, sponsored by the African Great Lakes Initiative in St. Louis.
PATRICK: They brought together ten survivors and ten perpetrators, taught them about Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder. And in addition to teaching them about trauma, they’d have group exercises to build trust. And immediately I felt like that was a story that HAD to be told.
RANDY: The question was: how to go about it? Patrick figured it would cost him at least $20,000 to fly over there, hire a local crew, pay for living expenses and so on. Where to find the money?
PATRICK: I also wondered, even if I GOT the money and made it there, would these people allow me to film them, me being an outsider? You know, it’s funny--once I decided that this is something I really wanted to do--and my wife was behind me 100%--I knew I had to take the leap of faith.
RANDY: Mark Bilyeu pledged his band Big Smith to do a fundraising concert at the GIllioz. Local media outlets did stories on Patrick. And local developer Matt Miller helped drum up investors for Patrick’s project. In the space of three weeks Patrick had the money he needed!
PATRICK: It happened! I can’t fully explain how it happened, Randy, but it did. The entire project has been a lesson in faith.
RANDY: Now, the Rwandans have had to put up with foreign film crews for many years, says Patrick.
PATRICK: People are very wary of these “foreigners” telling their stories, and I knew that I had to ask their permission to film… and I knew that they might say “no.” And if they did, then I’d have to pack up and come home. So I stood in front of everyone, and I told them about why I thought what they were doing was very brave--and very important. They said “yes”… a TENTATIVE “yes,” but they agreed. By the end of the first day, I was like a fly on the wall.
RANDY: In all, Patrick has been to Rwanda four times in the past two and a half years.
PATRICK: It’s been an emotional roller coaster--financial, spiritual, you name it. And what has kept me going is the fact that this story was more than just, you know, a “gig.” I ended up with 100 hours of footage that I whittled down to one and a half hours. I like to say that the film is “99.5% done,” because until it’s officially in the hands of a distributor, and it’s officially released, then I think I’ll be “tweaking” it now and then.
RANDY: Patrick Mureithi, producer of the documentary “Iciyzere: Hope.” Find out more about the African Great Lakes Initiative at www.aglionline.org.
