Set in 1973, this coming-of-age portrait follows a group of young Rwandan girls at a Belgian-run Catholic boarding school, taking inspiration from true events that would come to foreshadow the 1994 genocide during the Rwandan Civil War. Many of the girls belong to elite families, while others hold less privilege; further division is sown by ballooning anti-Tutsi rhetoric under existing Hutu rule. The terrain is tense, but in the foreground lies a bewitching yet unassuming story of colonial refusal, flanked by adolescent mischief and curiosity that is surely typical but has, in this case, much higher stakes.

Rwanda, 1973.
Our Lady of the Nile is a prestigious Catholic boarding school perched high on a hill, where teenage girls are groomed to be the Rwandan elite. Graduation on the horizon, they share the same dormitory, the same dreams and concerns.
But throughout the country as well as within the school, deep-seated antagonisms rumble. Changing these young girls' lives - and the entire nation - forever.

A film by Atiq RAHMI

France | Belgium | Rwanda, 2019, Drama, 1h 33min, Color, French | Kinyarwanda

Stars: Pascal Greggory, Clariella Bizimana, Albina Kirenga

Runtime: 1 hr 33 min (93 min)
COLOR: Color
COUNTRY: France, Belgium, Rwanda
LANGUAGE: French with some Kinyarwanda
ORIGINAL TITLE: Notre-Dame du Nil
DOMESTIC RELEASE (France): Bac Films

Director: Atiq Rahimi
Writers: Scholastique Mukasonga (novel), Atiq Rahimi (screenplay) |
Ramata Sy (screenplay)
based on "Notre-Dame du Nil", a novel by Scholastique Mukasonga (éd. Gallimard, 2012, Renaudot Prize & Ahmadou-Kourouma Prize)

DoP: Thierry Arbogast
Film Editing by Hervé de Luze
Production Design by Françoise Joset
Makeup designer... Anne Moralis
Post-production manager... Nicolas Bassetto & Thomas Fournet-Oberlé
Post-production supervisor... Abraham Goldblat
Unit production manager... Philippe Lenfant
First assistant director... Vincent Canaple
Second assistant director... Ayubu Kasasa Mago & Innocent Munyeshuri
Re-recording mixer... Mathieu Cox
Sound editor... Etienne Curchod
Dialogue editor / sound editor... Charles de Ville
Foley sound engineer... Aline Gavroy
Post-production coordinator... Céline Grudniewski
Foley editor... Caroline Landsweerdt
Boom operator... Kenzo Pelsener
Foley artist... Olivier Thys
Visual effects producer... Michel Denis
Digital compositor... Maiara Pierlot
Gaffer... Antoine Bellem
Digital imaging technician... Karine Feuillard
First assistant camera... Luc Frisson
Grip... Valens Habarugira
Costume supervisor... Nathalie Leborgne
Costumer... Jean Baptiste Ntezimana
Colorist... Peter Bernaers
Assistant editor... Julia Huteau-Mouglalis
First assistant editor... Emma Petroni
Music clearance... Perrine Vanderhaeghen
Script supervisor... Véronique Heuchenne
Production accountant... Martin Neufkens
Production assistant... Nora Thomas

CAST
Pascal Greggory
Clariella Bizimana
Albina Kirenga
Amanda Mugabezaki
Belinda Rubango
Malaika Uwamahoro

Production Companies:
Belga Productions,
Chapter 2,
Les Films du Tambour
Swoon Productions
France 2 Cinéma

Sales Representative
Indie Sales

Distribution (France) :
BAC FILMS

PRESS

'A straightforward adaptation of Scholastique Mukasonga's 2012 novel that effectively details the ethnic tensions that would lead to the 1994 Rwandan genocide."
"Visuals are so lush you want to reach out and touch the leaves on the trees"
VARIETY

''A marvellous ensemble cast of young women, this is a cautionary tale
about not heeding cautionary tales.''
SCREENDAILY


2019 | 3rd El Gouna International Film Festival, Egypt
* Nominee: Golden Star - Feature Narrative Competition

2019 | Festival international du film de Toronto (TIFF)
* Première mondiale (World Premiere)
* Opening Film, Contemporary World Cinema