Director Richard Hall recounts one of history’s most heinous acts against humanity in his film “The 600: The Soldiers’ Story“.
By Jerry Del Priore for Winter Film Awards
See the NYC Premiere of documentary The 600: The Soldiers’ Story on Tuesday February 25 @ 7:45 PM at Cinema Village (22 East 12th Street) as part of New York City’s 9th Annual Winter Film Awards International Film Festival.
When director Richard Hall set out to tell the story of a group of oppositional soldiers trapped behind enemy lines at the start of the genocide against the Tutsi in Rwanda in 1994, he wanted to portray the realism of the horror tale that the people faced while filling in the gaps left out by other movies.
Additionally, Hall said that he insisted on eyewitness accounts from the people who actually lived through the torture.
Out of Hall’s vision came The 600: The Soldiers’ Story. The 115-minute documentary details the harrowing, brutal ordeal that is told from an all-Rwandan cast’s perspective.
The Rwandan genocide, which wiped out approximately one million people, began after the Arusha Peace Agreement collapsed when a plane carrying presidents Juvénal Habyarimana of Rwanda and Cyprien Ntaryamira of Burundi was shot down, killing both men. What ensued was the Hutu power’s mass assassinations of Tutsi and moderate Hutu people.
The 600-strong third battalion of the Rwanda Patriotic Army (RPA) battled for approximately four days. The 600 were greatly outnumbered and cornered at the Parliament against 10,000 government armed forces and 100,000 militia, who were all hell-bent on wiping out anyone who opposed them. However, the 600 were able to keep the Hutu power at bay until allied reinforcements joined in on the rebellion.
“I wanted it to be authentic,” Hall explained. “There’s a problem with films about Rwanda (Hotel Rwanda and the 2018 television drama series Black Earth Rising). There are a lot of historical inaccuracies. It’s in the voices of people who were there. I wanted it to have a real sense of authenticity.”
Hall’s use of several in-depth interviews with Tutsi soldiers and survivors did just that, to perfection, walking viewers through the atrocities faced by the Rwandan minority that took place over 100 brutal days. Additionally, Hall and the production crew complemented the terrifying tales with vivid reenactments and historical footage that lent a helping hand to support the flow and makeup of the movie.
The 600: The Soldiers’ Story was a labor of love for Hall, whose wife is from Rwanda. He had heard so many gruesome accounts from his wife and her family, that he felt compelled to portray the real deal tale.
The documentary was released on July 5, the day after the celebration of the 25th official anniversary of Rwanda’s Liberation Day that marked the time when the Rwandan Patriotic Front (RPF)-Inkotanyi halted the slaughtering and freed the country. Hall said it was attended by the country’s current president, Paul Kagame, who led the group of 10,000–14,000 RFP soldiers against the Hutu forces that perpetrated the 1994 genocide.
Since The 600: The Soldiers’ Story’s world premiere, Hall said people have been hailing the documentary as a gripping depiction of what actually went on in Rwanda a quarter of century ago, especially the Rwandan media. “The (Rwandan) press calls it the most authentic film about the Rwandan genocide every made in English,” he said. “There was no Hollywood story telling. It’s sort of becoming a national film, a source of pride for me. I’m very proud of the final product.”
Jerry Del Priore
Jerry Del Priore is an accomplished writer, author, blogger and reporter. He has written on topics such as sports, health and fitness, NYC lifestyle and food, as well as movies and music. Del Priore runs his own weblog called www.BrooklynSportsWorld.com.
About Winter Film Awards
New York City’s 9th Annual Winter Film Awards International Film Festival runs February 20-29 2020. Check out a jam-packed lineup of 79 fantastic films in all genres from 27 countries, including shorts, features, Animation, Drama, Comedy, Thriller, Horror, Documentary and Music Video. Hollywood might ignore women and people of color, but Winter Film Awards celebrates everyone!
Winter Film Awards is an all volunteer, minority- and women-owned registered 501(c)3 non-profit organization founded in 2011 in New York City by a group of filmmakers and enthusiasts. The program is supported, in part, by public funds from the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs in partnership with the City Council and the NY State Council on the Arts.
