Shooting Dogs – 2006 | 115 mins | Drama | Colour

Plot Synopsis

Directed by Hollywood gin-for-hire Michael Caton-Jones for BBC films with a $7m budget, Shooting Dogs is based on the real-life events that took place at L’École Technique Officielle (ETO) during the Rwandan genocide of 1994. Filmed on location at Kigali, and involving a number of genocide survivors within its cast and crew, Caton-Jones emotionally gripping and powerful recreation of the tragic events covers similar ground to the award-winning Hotel Rwanda, but does so in a less melodramatic more understated vein. The story is not just about Rwanda – but a character study of humanity when evil threatens. The title of the film refers to the fact that UN Peacekeepers used to shoot local dogs that fed on the decomposing bodies of victims.

Joe Connor (Hugh Dancy) has come to teach English in Rwanda because he believes he can make a difference. When the secondary school compound becomes a haven for thousands of Rwandan Tutsis fleeing the Hutu militia’s barbarity, Joe promises his brightest pupil, Marie (Claire-Hope Ashitey), that the Belgian-speaking UN soldiers will protect her from the hordes of extremist militia baying for blood outside the fenc. But when the impotent UN abandons the refugees, idealistic Joe and world-weary Catholic priest, Father Christopher (John Hurt), face an agonising dilemma: should they leave or should they stand firm with the Rwandans. As the UN trucks force their way through the terrified refugees, the young acolyte stares at the tear-stained face of Marie.