D'Arusha à Arusha
Christophe Gargot
2008 - 115 min - HDCam - Couleur - France

Just back from shooting (in Rwanda and Mali via Tanzania), the director will present his work in progress together with his Chief Cameraman, Samuel Dravet, and Sound Engineer, Frédéric Salle. Fifty years after the Nuremberg Trials, in Arusha, Tanzania the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR) has been set up with the task of trying those responsible for the heinous crimes committed in Rwanda in 1994, in particular the Tutsi genocide, which led to the death of more than a million people in three months.
Against the backdrop of the lack of recognition of the International Criminal Court and all the major world powers and in the absence of a review of the activities of the International Courts, how is it possible to clarify and inform people about the responsibilities and workings of a justice system whose inception and accessibility seem to be the sole reserve of experts? In order to address this Gargot has attempted to create a film using a unique and exceptional resource: the images of trials in progress, audiovisual archives shown and compiled by the ICTR itself for the collective memory of posterity.
“D’Arusha à Arusha” will question a court, which seems to have become accustomed to operating behind closed doors in order to have greater control over the transparency of a kind of diplomacy, which takes centre stage and, at times, seems to have difficulties assuming its proper role. Through the image of the bullet-proof screen separating the public galleries from the courtroom, the justice system protects itself to the point of becoming virtually inaccessible, particularly to those who are most affected – the Rwandans.
Moving between the inside and the outside of the court: the international arena and the local territory "D’Arusha à Arusha" will be the first documentary on the International Criminal Court using its own representation with the aim of exploring the singular relationship it hopes to establish.