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by Abdul Mateen June 8, 2014, 1:48 p.m.

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Kinyarwanda debuts in AMC Phipps Plaza on 12/2. It is based on true accounts from survivors who took refuge at the Grand Mosque of Kigali and the Imams who opened their doors to give refuge to the Tutsi and to those Hutu who refused to participate in the killing. During the 1994 Rwandan genocide, the Mufti of Rwanda (Sheikh Saleh Habimana), the most respected Muslim leader in the country, issued a fatwa forbidding Muslims from participating in the killing of the Tutsi. As the country became a slaughterhouse, mosques became places of refuge where Muslims and Christians, Hutus and Tutsis came together to protect each other. Kinyarwanda is based on true accounts from survivors who took refuge at the Grand Mosque of Kigali and the Imams who opened their doors to give refuge to the Tutsi and to those Hutu who refused to participate in the killing

Trailer [Rated: NR, contains violence]

Roger Ebert: The Mufti issues an edict declaring that the nation's Muslims must not participate in killing and must open the mosques to places of shelter for all, regardless of tribe or religion. The priest tries to operate his church in the same way, but lacks the courage. Yet finally Muslims and Catholics link hands to face the bloodthirsty killers.

Edward Adams from Creative Loafing states "This conscious decision to focus on the character and conflict of the Rwandan people without any sensationalized gore to make an unnecessary point is commendable in both films making it appeal for educational viewing and families."

The debut feature from Brown, which also won an audience award at Sundance this year, won the 1.5 million yen ($19,400) prize for its depiction of six stories based on real events during the Hutu massacres of Tutsis that devastated the east African nation in 1994.