Settling: An architect in Rwanda
Architect Josephine Malonza tackles Rwanda’s urban housing needs while learning from the country’s painful past.
In Kigali’s School of Architecture, Professor Josephine Malonza inspires her students to take a people-centred approach to “informal housing”. She is part of a big urbanisation project in Rwanda’s capital and wants to see more community engagement in housing.
In Settling, by filmmaker Amelia Umuhire, Malonza shares her story and ideas and takes us on a trip to Kigali’s oldest urban settlement. Hers is a life of moving countries, challenging gender roles, and finding life affirmation after a personal tragedy made her reflect on the lessons of the 1994 Rwandan genocide.
Amelia Umuhire is a Rwandan filmmaker and artist. She wrote, directed and produced the award-winning web series Polyglot, the short film Mugabo and the Prix-Europa nominated sound piece Vaterland. Her work has been screened internationally. She is currently a head writer on a TV show for German broadcaster ZDF.