Towards the night

Towards the night

working title

Nov. 2023

In development Les films du Djabadjah

Experimental feature film

Shot in Kigali

The film begins at dusk.

Amdjadi Mugarura, a 34-year-old single father of two, leads a life divided between light and shadow. By day, he upholds a facade of respectability for his conservative family, heirs to a distinguished mufti. By night, he roams the streets of Kigali as a moto-taxi driver, a hidden profession that grants him freedom and autonomy. This dual existence mirrors his quest for emancipation and his assertion of a “right to opacity” in a society still navigating profound transformations, 30 years after the genocide. Rwanda’s accelerated development brings stark generational divides, contrasting traditional values with modern aspirations, under the pervasive gaze of social control.

Towards the Night unfolds as a nocturnal odyssey, painting a vivid portrait of Kigali’s diverse, vibrant pulse. Amdjadi’s passengers—an elder Batwa, a priest, a sex worker, artists, defiant LGBT bikers, an imam, and others—reflect the city’s complexities. Each encounter opens a window into marginal lives lived with sincerity and adaptation, embodying the spirit of a society in mutation.

Kigali’s nightlife provides a kaleidoscope of settings: from smoky saunas to billiard halls, karaoke bars, and hidden corners of the city where the marginalized find fleeting solace. These spaces frame Amdjadi’s nightly journey, while his candid exchanges become acts of mutual liberation. Inspired by the courage of those he meets, Amdjadi begins to reconcile his dual identity, culminating in his symbolic “coming out” as a moto-taxi rider—a journey mirrored by the film itself, an ode to self-acceptance and the transformative power of connection.

Coproduced by Les films du Djabadjah (Burkina-Faso: Berni Goldblat and Faissol Gnolonfin), Karekezi Film Production (Rwanda: Joël Karekezi) and Gaijin (France: Valérie Massadian and Sophie Erbs).