Marie-Clémentine Dusabejambo

Born in Kigali (Rwanda), Marie-Clémentine DUSABEJAMBO is a self-taught filmmaker since 2008 and an engineer in electronics and telecommunication by training. Her films, have played in many film festivals and Televisions around the world; have international recognitions and awards including: THOMA SANKA prizes in FESPACO 2017, Cinit award in Milano Festival 2012, the Ousmane Sembene Award and Golden Dhow in ZIFF 2016, Two Bronze Tanit in JCC (Tunis) and the EFERE OZAKO Award during AMAA awards 2017. 

Her first feature-length film, Ben’imana has been selected in the Un Certain Regard category at the 2026 Cannes Film Festival.

Ben’imana

LIM | Less is More 2020

Rwanda, 2012. The country is emerging from a period of silence following the 1994 genocide against the Tutsis, and people’s courts are being set up with the aim of bringing about justice and reconciliation.

Veneranda, a survivor, is convinced of the need for these trials. Despite the pressure, she organises discussion sessions between the victims and the families of the perpetrators. A form of therapy for some, an act of betrayal for others, these sessions of testimony rekindle and reveal the traumas that each person is trying to overcome in their own way.

The wounds of Veneranda’s past are reopened when she learns of her daughter’s unexpected pregnancy and the identity of the father. Veneranda must then confront her own contradictions and the darker aspects of her past.