美国国家公共电台 NPR Filmmaker Dreams Of A Romantic Comedy Set In Rwanda

 

KELLY MCEVERS, HOST:

In Rwanda, a filmmaker who once told stories about genocide is now hoping to make romantic comedies and to build a film industry in the country. NPR's Eyder Peralta met him in the capital, Kigali.

EYDER PERALTA, BYLINE¹: I ask Eric Kabera to take me to his favorite part of Kigali. He's a filmmaker, the first Rwandan to make a feature film about the 1994 genocide that killed some 800,000 people. And he doesn't miss a beat. There's a hill on the edge of the city, he says, where he bought a plot of land. And he has big plans for it.

ERIC KABERA: What I really wanted to do is actually to put up a big sign that reads Hillywood (ph). So it's a bit crazy.

PERALTA: So we drive past some rice fields and onto a dirt road. And then we start to climb and the city's density² comes in full view - rows of homes winding³ up the steep hillsides.

KABERA: You can feel that even the air is starting to cool and you're getting the right oxygen.

PERALTA: Rwanda is known as the country of a thousand hills. And when we get to Eric's place, it's spectacular, an unobstructed view of the capital city. This is where Eric wants to build a huge Hillywood sign. And this is where he imagines two of his movie characters might end up one day. This is where they might see the city lights flicker⁴ on as the sun sets and where they might realize that they're in love.

So you're planning a romantic comedy. Why?

KABERA: You know, I'm somehow labeled to be, like, the guy who goes to film festivals and present all these sort of sad and traumatic and dramatic films. But at the end of the day, you know, there's also a new dynamic. You know, the city's changing. You know, people are aspiring⁵ to live, you know, as normally as anybody else.

PERALTA: Standing⁶ there at the edge of that ravine, all I see is a bustling⁷ city, the modern dome⁸ of a brand-new convention center. I see life.

KABERA: I think everybody, first and foremost, gets shocked to walk around in the city that does not necessarily have the scars of the genocide. They go like, you know, really? Is this what we saw? So Kigali has that feeling. And it has that life to itself, but life that is also covered by that pain.

PERALTA: I guess I do see it. But I wonder if I'm just reflecting that.

KABERA: Maybe. Maybe I'm crazy. Maybe it's actually to do with the kind of history and experience that I've gone through for the last 20 years because I know that I'm bruised⁹ in one way or another. Each time, maybe, the way I even lead my life, I try as much as possible to not reflect upon it day in and day out. But it's there. It's present. And there's no way how you can run away from it.

PERALTA: Eric wants that Hillywood sign to be on the same scale as the iconic Hollywood sign. But that takes money. Once it's done, though, he hopes it will be a reminder¹⁰ that even amid hurt there can be love and there can be humor. Eyder Peralta, NPR News, Kigali.

(SOUNDBITE OF MOKHOV'S "HALCYON DAYS")

1 byline   

n.署名；v.署名

参考例句：

• His byline was absent as well.他的署名也不见了。
• We wish to thank the author of this article which carries no byline.我们要感谢这篇文章的那位没有署名的作者。

2 density   

n.密集，密度，浓度

参考例句：

• The population density of that country is 685 per square mile.那个国家的人口密度为每平方英里685人。
• The region has a very high population density.该地区的人口密度很高。

3 winding   

n.绕，缠，绕组，线圈

参考例句：

• A winding lane led down towards the river.一条弯弯曲曲的小路通向河边。
• The winding trail caused us to lose our orientation.迂回曲折的小道使我们迷失了方向。

4 flicker   

vi./n.闪烁，摇曳，闪现

参考例句：

• There was a flicker of lights coming from the abandoned house.这所废弃的房屋中有灯光闪烁。
• At first,the flame may be a small flicker,barely shining.开始时，光辉可能是微弱地忽隐忽现，几乎并不灿烂。

5 aspiring   

adj.有志气的；有抱负的；高耸的v.渴望；追求

参考例句：

• Aspiring musicians need hours of practice every day. 想当音乐家就要每天练许多小时。
• He came from an aspiring working-class background. 他出身于有抱负的工人阶级家庭。 来自辞典例句

6 standing   

n.持续，地位；adj.永久的，不动的，直立的，不流动的

参考例句：

• After the earthquake only a few houses were left standing.地震过后只有几幢房屋还立着。
• They're standing out against any change in the law.他们坚决反对对法律做任何修改。

7 bustling   

adj.喧闹的

参考例句：

• The market was bustling with life. 市场上生机勃勃。
• This district is getting more and more prosperous and bustling. 这一带越来越繁华了。

8 dome   

n.圆屋顶，拱顶

参考例句：

• The dome was supported by white marble columns.圆顶由白色大理石柱支撑着。
• They formed the dome with the tree's branches.他们用树枝搭成圆屋顶。

9 bruised   

[医]青肿的，瘀紫的

参考例句：

• his bruised and bloodied nose 他沾满血的青肿的鼻子
• She had slipped and badly bruised her face. 她滑了一跤，摔得鼻青脸肿。

10 reminder   

n.提醒物，纪念品；暗示，提示

参考例句：

• I have had another reminder from the library.我又收到图书馆的催还单。
• It always took a final reminder to get her to pay her share of the rent.总是得发给她一份最后催缴通知，她才付应该交的房租。