A New Life With Drums, Ice Cream and Conviction

This documentary, “Sweet Dreams,” is about Ingoma Nshya, a women’s drumming troupe formed in Rwanda as a response to the 1994 genocide that killed as many as a million people. The film centers around Kiki Katese, founder of the drumming group, who explains matter-of-factly that, while traditionally only men were drummers, a trip to the National Museum revealed no particular reason for this. Katese says one person at the museum suggested it was because the drums are heavy. “Well, let’s see how heavy they are,” she laughs. Katese approaches two women from Brooklyn, Jennie Dondas and Alexis Miesen, who run an ice cream shop, and asks their help in setting up a shop in Butare, in the southwestern part of the country. The women in the drumming group decide to form a cooperative, and the film tracks their progress, or lack of it, through the grand opening of “Inzozi Nziza” (Sweet Dreams), its growing pains, and its eventual success.The film ends with Ingoma Nshya sponsoring a drumming festival, and performing with male drummers — another taboo busted. Within this framework are recollections from the women (and a couple of men) about the genocide. Although it was some 18 years ago, nobody is unaffected. The Rwandan president, Paul Kagame, makes two appearances — one at a local festival, where he conducts a sort of open mike gripe session, and again at a stadium. As he speaks about the survivors of the genocide, and asks people to help those who, “even though they live, are not alive,” screams from the distraught ring out, and women are carried to waiting ambulances. As the grand opening of the ice cream shop nears, there is a serious hitch — the ice cream machine doesn’t freeze anything. There are some very long faces and an atmosphere of impending doom, until the world’s most stoic ice cream machine repairman arrives from the capital. It’s a comic scene, as the man tries this, and fiddles with that. He takes off his jacket and starts taking the machine apart. At first it’s just him and a Western volunteer, but as he tinkers the room fills up with silent, anxious women. Finally the first properly frozen ice cream is produced, and the fellow is mobbed. Amazingly, he keeps a straight face. Another scene, when the women are unpacking the store equipment, demonstrates that the urge to pop the bubbles in plastic packing wrap is universal. The filmmakers, Rob and Lisa Fruchtman, who have a home in Lake-ville, are the most unobtrusive documentary filmmakers I’ve seen in recent years. There is no voice-over; the minimal exposition is accomplished with terse titles. The genocide itself is dealt with in a few sentences. If “Sweet Dreams” has an agenda beyond the aspirations stated by the subjects, I can’t see it. And that makes a nice change in a world awash in propaganda masquerading as documentary. It’s not all ice cream and sprinkles. Some members of the co-op are bitterly disappointed not to be chosen for the initial staff. One woman is fired, for “a bad attitude and petty theft.” It’s difficult to single out one inspirational comment or moment, so I’ll just stick with this — Katese saying “When you believe something’s possible, it’s done already.” A terrific film. See it. “Sweet Dreams” will be shown at Filmworks Forum at The Moviehouse in Millerton, NY, for one show only, July 15 at 11 a.m., with ice cream makers Jennie Dundas and Alexis Meisen.