Shooting Dogs

Set during the early days of the Rwandan genocide, the story follows the escalation from uneasy calm to brutal violence. The sequence of events anchors the crisis around the night of 6 April 1994, with roadblocks, massacres, and shifting attempts at outside intervention. The period exposes the limits of international protection and the urgent need for relief within a collapsing social order.

The film centers on a small technical school just outside Kigali that becomes a fragile sanctuary for refugees and European arrivals alike. Guarded by a unit under Captain Delon, the makeshift fortress echoes with fear as violence looms. As whispers of looming violence spread, the school shifts from a fragile calm to a fortified refuge, where classrooms double as shelters and a tense balance between safety and threat persists.

⚔️ Genocide

The narrative centers on systematic ethnic violence and the collapse of civil order surrounding the school. It traces how fear and revenge ripple through a community, turning protectors into potential perpetrators and turning ordinary acts into acts of survival. The setting strips away ordinary safety, forcing characters to confront the fragility of life when targeted violence erupts.

📰 Journalism

Rachel's presence and Joe's attempt to broadcast the refugees' plight foreground the tension between reporting and responsibility. The journalists witness brutality up close, yet struggle to translate it into meaningful intervention. The film questions the distance between distant news coverage and the moral consequences of bearing witness.

⚖️ Morality

Characters grapple with hard choices that blur ethical lines, from bribing medics to save a child's life to choosing who to evacuate. The UN mandate and military posture collide with personal duty, exposing the limits of neutrality in the face of atrocity. The story foregrounds the costs of doing nothing versus acting, and who bears responsibility for the outcomes.

🏃 Survival

Refugees and helpers fight to endure under ever-tightening danger, turning the school into a staging ground for escape attempts. The film follows Marie, Edda, and others as they attempt to flee the mob and seek safety, often paying with their lives. It highlights the daily acts of courage and the harsh reality that survival can require profound sacrifice.