Jo Ingabire Moys is a Rwandan-British writer, actress and director [1][2][3] whose debut short film Bazigaga was nominated for a BAFTA after a successful festival tour.[4][5][6][7]

Early life and education

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She was born in the early 1990s, at the beginning of the Rwandan Civil War that involved the genocide of the Tutsi people by the Hutu ethnic majority in 1994.[1] She grew up in Kigali at the time when they were the only Tutsi family on the street.[8] She is the youngest of six children.[3] Her mother used to do business while her father worked for the customs office.[3][9]

In 1997, when Moys was 8 years old, her school was attacked by militia forces of the former genocide regime who kidnaped the children of politicians.[3] The following year, Moys and her family moved to Uganda for eight years and later to the United Kingdom.[3] She attended Dulwich School in south London. This is where she found English literature and focused on books.[2] She graduated from Queen Mary University of London.

Career

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She worked in various roles in film and TV before becoming a director. I am Leah, her debut play, is set to premiere at the Camden People's Theatre in the Autumn of 2024. She is the co-founder of the Ishami Foundation, a charity that fights discrimination against refugees and immigrants in African countries.[3]

References

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  1. ^ a b Hank, Rugged (2023-01-28). "Jo Ingabire Moys' BAFTA nominated BAZIGAGA draws from her own experience of surviving the Genocide in Rwanda". The Daily Brit. Retrieved 2024-02-17.
  2. ^ a b "Jo Ingabire Moys". Festival del Cinema Africano, d'Asia e America Latina. Retrieved 2024-02-17.
  3. ^ a b c d e f Moys, Jo Ingabire (2023-02-15). ""I survived genocide. Now I'm telling the story of my country"". Newsweek. Retrieved 2024-02-17.
  4. ^ "Jo Ingabire Moys | United Agents".
  5. ^ film, Guardian (2023-01-19). "Baftas 2023: the full list of nominations". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 2024-02-17.
  6. ^ "Rwanda timeline: 100 days of genocide". the Guardian. 2014-04-07. Retrieved 2024-02-17.
  7. ^ African, The East (2023-07-03). "Heart-wrenching genocide film premieres in Rwanda – Sqoop – Get Uganda entertainment news, celebrity gossip, videos and photos". Retrieved 2024-02-17.
  8. ^ "How unspeakable tragedy as a teen led Jo to a BAFTA nomination". honey.nine.com.au. 2023-02-16. Retrieved 2024-02-17.
  9. ^ Russell, David (2021-06-01). "I am Leah". Survivors Fund. Retrieved 2024-02-17.