Released in the US as Beyond the Gates, Shooting Dogs is based on the factual story of a Catholic priest and a young English teacher who are caught in the middle of the 1994 Rwandan genocide.

Unlike Hotel Rwanda, which was filmed in South Africa using South African actors, the film was shot in the original location of the scenes it portrays. Also, many survivors of the massacre were employed as part of the production crew and minor acting roles.

The film’s title refers to the actions of UN soldiers in shooting at the stray dogs that scavenged the bodies of the dead. Since the UN soldiers were not allowed to shoot at the Hutu extremists who had caused the deaths in the first place, the shooting of dogs is symbolic of the madness of the situation that the film attempts to capture.

‘A more powerful affair than Hotel Rwanda.’ Paul Hurly, Tiscali UK.