Synopsis
Zaza Rising tells the timely story of Christine Nyirahabimana, a Rwandan woman who started a small bakery in rural Rwanda, hiring 10 HIV positive, single mothers as her employees. Despite incredible odds stacked against her and her cooperative, she is a beacon of light for her community and an inspiring example of how one individual can effect change and break generational cycles of poverty. This is not another doom and gloom Rwanda documentary, rather a window into the strong women moving the country in the right direction, one village, one business, one bread at a time.
About the Filmmaker
Lena Strothe has a passion and talent for storytelling and film is her medium. Her creative genius and film production expertise shaped Christine’s story into Zaza Rising. Based in Los Angeles, she is a producer at Trailer Park Inc. where she specializes in long and short form home entertainment, theatrical marketing and branded content. She has experience working on the sets of films such as Ocean’s 8, Horrible Bosses II and The Hobbit: The Battle of Five Armies. Filming Zaza Rising was her first experience in Rwanda but it definitely did not show. She guided the team’s preparation for the trip and her hard work and meticulous planning enabled the crew to start shooting on day one.
