PUSHING THE ELEPHANT Screening in NY and LA During DocuWeeks!!
New York
Fri 6-Aug 12:00 PM, 5:30 PM
Sat 7-Aug 1:35 PM, 7:30 PM
Sun 8-Aug 3:35 PM, 9:45 PM
Mon 9-Aug 12:00 PM, 5:30 PM
Tue 10-Aug 1:35 PM, 7:30 PM
Wed 11-Aug 3:35 PM, 9:45 PM
Thu 12-Aug 3:35 PM, 9:45 PM
Fri 13-Aug 12:00 PM, 5:40 PM
Sat 14-Aug 1:45 PM, 7:40 PM
Sun 15-Aug 3:45 PM, 9:50 PM
Mon 16-Aug 12:00 PM, 5:40 PM
Tue 17-Aug 1:45 PM, 7:40 PM
Wed 18-Aug 3:45 PM, 9:50 PM
Thu 19-Aug 3:45 PM, 9:50 PM
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Pushing The Elephant is made possible by generous funding from:
Chicken & Egg Pictures, Cinereach, The William H. Donner Foundation, Educational Foundation of America, Experimental Television Center, ITVS Research & Development Fund, Jerome Foundation, John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, The Josh Mailman Foundation, NEA, NYFA, NYSCA, Still Point Fund, Sundance Documentary Fund, Tides Foundation and other generous supporters.
In the late 1990s, Rose Mapendo lost her family and home to the violence that engulfed the Democratic Republic of Congo. She emerged advocating forgiveness and reconciliation. In a country where ethnic violence has created seemingly irreparable rifts among Tutsis, Hutus and other Congolese, this remarkable woman is a vital voice in her beleaguered nation’s search for peace. Now, Rose is confronted with teaching one her most recalcitrant students how to forgive—Nangabire, the daughter who remained behind.
When war came to Rose’s village, she was separated from her five-year-old daughter, Nangabire. Rose managed to escape with nine of her ten children and was eventually resettled in Phoenix, Arizona. Over a decade later, mother and daughter are reunited in the US where they must face the past and build a new future.
We follow Rose and Nangabire over the course of a year as they make up for lost time. Rose struggles to find balance in her life as a mother of ten and a full-time advocate for refugees. She serves as the Ambassador for Mapendo International, a humanitarian organization named in Rose’s honor that protects and cares for forgotten refugees. Her speaking engagements have her traveling around the world from the White House to the UNHCR in Geneva to peace talks in Goma, Congo.
Meanwhile Nangabire, now seventeen, must adapt to America and discover how she fits into the sprawling Mapendo family. As mother and daughter get to know one another, they must come to terms with a painful past, and define what it means to be a survivor, a woman, a refugee and an American.
Through this intimate family portrait unfolding against the wider drama of war, we will explore the long-term and often hidden effects of war on women and families, particularly those in traditional societies—financial despair, increased susceptibility to rape, and social ostracism. Pushing The Elephant will capture one of the most important stories of our age, a time when genocidal violence is challenged by the moral fortitude and grace of one woman’s mission for peace.
Pushing The Elephant will premiere at the Human Rights Watch Film Festival, with three screenings between June 12 -14. We are delighted that Rose, Nangabire, and Rose’s eldest son John will be joining us. We hope to see you there! Tickets are on sale now! For more information, please visit http://www.hrw.org/en/iff/pushing-elephant.
Pushing The Elephant was selected to be part of Good Pitch during Independent Film Week in September 2009. This social-justice pitch forum was created by Channel 4 BRITDOC Foundation and the Sundance Institute Documentary Film Program.
Rose was honored with the Humanitarian of the Year Award in June 2009 by the United Nations High Commissioner on Refugees. The audience included Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton and refugee activist and actress Angelina Jolie.
Rose’s eldest daughter, Aimee, gave birth to a beautiful baby boy named Joshua in April 2009. Congratulations!
In January 2009, Rose’s brother Fredrick and his wife and baby were granted visas to join Rose and her family in the United States. We congratulate the family and look forward to welcoming them.
Pushing The Elephant was one of only three films from the United States invited to participate in the International Documentary Film Festival Amsterdam Pitch Forum in November 2008. This prestigious event brings together directors, producers, buyers financiers and audiences.
In October 2008, Rose was featured on CNN as part of CNN Heroes: Susan Sarandon: Sharing The Spotlight.
In July 2008, Rose became the first refugee to address the Annual Tripartite Consultations on Resettlement of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) in Geneva.
In June 2008, the White House invited Rose Mapendo to speak in commemoration of World Refugee Day.
Rose was invited to represent her tribe in the Goma Peace Talks in the Democratic Republic of Congo in January 2008. She was one of only a handful of women invited to the talks.
Mapendo International, the humanitarian organization that protects and cares for forgotten refugees, was credited with refugee rescue in The New York Times (August 5, 2007). Mapendo was named in honor of Rose’s story and she is the founding spokesperson for the organization.
In March 2007, a panel of distinguished judges—including Hank Aaron, Paul Newman, Senator Bill Bradley, and Caroline Kennedy—named Rose Mapendo as America’s greatest hometown hero at the Volvo for Life Hero Awards. View the video.