Mercy of The Jungle, a film by Joel Karekezi scooped the Etalon d’Or (Golden Stallion of Yennenga) Award at the Film and Television Festival of Ouagadougou (Fespaco).

The film’s lead actor, Marc Zinga — a Belgian — won the award for Best Actor.

Fespaco celebrated its 50th anniversary and took place from February 23 to March 2, and brought together thousands of film enthusiasts to celebrate African films.

Karekezi’s film looks at conflict and other issue affecting African nations. The film made its debut on Rwanda at the 2018 European Film Festival in Kigali.

Starring Stéphane Bak, Ibrahim Ahmed and Marc Zinga, the 91-minute film was produced by Belgium’s Aurelien Bodinaux, and also features actors like Shanel Nirere, Abey Mukiibi, Kantarana Gahigiri, Michael Wawuyo, from DR Congo, Mali, Rwanda, Uganda and Tanzania.

The film was shown at the Toronto International Film Festival and at the 2018 Festival International du film francophone de Namur, in Belgium. It was featured at the 2018 Festival du Cinema Africain de Khouribga, from December 15 to 22, where it won awards for Best Screenplay and Best Supporting Actor.