April 7th 2014, twenty years ago to the day since the beginning of the genocide in Rwanda saw the launch of Love Radio: Episodes of Love & Hate – a new transmedia documentary that explores the process of reconciliation in post-genocide RwandaThe documentary tells the story of the popular radio soap Musekeweya, or ‘New Dawn’, which is trying to promote reconciliation and prevent new outbursts of violence. Through the documentary we discover the story of the soap’s creators, its actors and audience through film, photography and text. It is a story of the impact of mass media and the thin line between fact and fiction, violence and reconciliation, guilt and innocence.

In this edition of Submarine Channel Profiles, we speak with Eefje Blankevoort and Anoek Steketee, the creators of Love Radio, about the real story of Musekeweya that inspired them to make this web documentary and the creative process behind creating a documentary that echoes both the fictionalized struggles of the soap’s characters and the very real stories of reconciliation in post-genocide Rwanda. [text Simon Byrne]

Credits:

Direction/editing: Geert van de Wetering
Camera: Niels de Roos & Geert van de Wetering