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 and ordered by the highest ranking officials: murders, kidnappings, disappearances, torture, rape and massive detentions, ordered by the highest ranking officials.

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.

The launch of the film, directed by Burundi’s dictator, employs all of the marketing techniques of a traditional blockbuster film: world premieres in Paris and New York, a showing of the trailer on a giant screen in Times Square, as well as in numerous cinemas, a digital and social media campaign that borrowed the language and culture of cinema fans and drove conversation. Set out as a real movie trailer, Genocide in Burundi has a page on cinema platform AlloCiné - IMDB’s European equivalence- where cinema fans could discover the trailer, the awards (“Worst Scenario Film Festival”, “Golden Bloodbath Award”, “Best Remake Rwanda Award”), backstage secrets (“abuse of power”, “carte blanche to torture & kill”, “incitement to hatred”), along with featuring the government’s key people in the casting section and an interview with a survivor. Additionally, FIDH has called out to a number of international public figures and movie stars