Shooting Dogs

Shooting Dogs, released in the United States as Beyond the Gates, is a 2005 film, directed by Michael Caton-Jones and starring John Hurt, Hugh Dancy and Clare-Hope Ashitey.

It is based on the experiences of BBC news producer David Belton, who worked in Rwanda during the Rwandan genocide.

Hurt plays a Catholic priest (loosely based on Vjekoslav Ćurić[1]) and Dancy an English teacher, both Europeans, who are caught up in the events of the genocide.

The film's title refers to the actions of UN soldiers in shooting at the stray dogs that scavenged the bodies of the dead.

In early April 1994, they observe a number of events that cause Christopher some concern, including lists being made of Tutsi families, reports of Hutu mobs attacking Tutsis elsewhere in the country, and a suspicious interest shown by Christopher's government contact in the number of UN troops at the school.

On the night of 6 April 1994, distant explosions and gunshots are heard, and Delon hears that the President's plane has been shot down.

As a mob surrounds the school, Joe thinks it would help the refugees if their plight is televised and requests Delon's assistance to fetch BBC journalist Rachel and bring her to the compound.

Delon is initially cooperative, but abruptly changes his mind and refuses when he hears that the Belgian soldiers guarding Prime Minister Uwilingiyimana have been massacred.

On Christopher's return to the school, Delon tells him they will begin shooting the dogs scavenging nearby bodies.

He takes a small group of children, including Marie, intending to return for more, but as soon as he leaves the school, the mob attacks and massacres the remaining refugees.

The website's critical consensus reads, "Complex, human characters and on-location shooting give Beyond the Gates palpable tension and urgency.

"[2] In The Guardian critic Rob Mackey wrote: "If you didn't know the story, you might expect the film to develop into a nice little culture-clash comedy… Shooting Dogs boasts a real location: the school in Kigali where a nightmare played itself out."

In The New Statesman Victoria Segal wrote: "Shooting Dogs was shot in Kigali and the geography plays a significant role in generating stark fear: the oddly deserted streets, the bodies in the undergrowth, the humidity and dust.