In 1926, Suzanne was born to a Belgian territorial administrator and a Rwandan woman. At the time, such unions were sanctioned by the colonial authorities. At the age of 4, her father sent Suzanne to Belgium for a European education. She was what was then called “a mulatto saved from a negro destiny”. Suzanne is my aunt. Her father is my grandfather. Yet I didn't learn of her existence until I was 27. This film breaks the silence that has hung over her origins, at the crossroads of family history and colonial history.
In 1926, Suzanne was born to a Belgian territorial administrator and a Rwandan woman. At the time, such unions were sanctioned by the colonial authorities. At the age of 4, her father sent Suzanne to Belgium for a European education. She was what was then called “a mulatto saved from a negro destiny”. Suzanne is my aunt. Her father is my grandfather. Yet I didn't learn of her existence until I was 27. This film breaks the silence that has hung over her origins, at the crossroads of family history and colonial history.