História | In November 2016, the FIDH (International Federation of Human Rights) published “Repression and Genocidal Dynamics in Burundi”, a 200-page report demonstrating that crimes of the most serious nature were being committed in Burundi. Our main challenge was to denounce the atrocities committed in this dictatorial country where censorship and persecution are part of everyday life and and to raise international public awareness about the alarming situation which reminds us of the Rwandan genocide of 1994. Our final goal was to grab media attention and call out to the UN to intervene. Films like Hotel Rwanda, Blood Diamond, The Last King of Scotland, based on true stories, have captured the interest of millions. However, outside of cinema, African conflicts are less captivating for the general public. How can we raise awareness about tragedies being written in real life? To get people to react before another catastrophe happens, FIDH anticipated the worst possible scenario with “Genocide in Burundi” a trailer to a fake movie; the first movie whose release you must stop. The video, created in the style of numerous films based on African tragedies was set out as a real movie trailer. The campaign, with a powerful call to action #StopThisMovie, has been created to showcase a powerful message that if the situation in Burundi continues to deteriorate, this fictional trailer could become a real life movie in the not so distant future and became the only movie you wouldn’t want to see. |