This weekend, I attended a women and food event in New York City called the Jubilee, hosted by the founders of a wonderful bi-annual magazine called Cherry Bombe (which is also a celebration of woman and food and an extremely cool read). Amongst all the terrific speakers and panels was one in particular that just blew me away and left me in tears. It was about a truly moving and inspirational documentary called Sweet Dreams. The film is about a group of women from Rwanda, all of whom were victims of the 1994 genocide—”widows, orphans, wives and children of perpetrators”—who successfully formed the first all-woman drumming group in Rwanda (traditionally an all-male endeavor). Their leader, a woman named Kiki Katese, then decided to use their success as a group to open Rwanda’s first ever ice cream shop as a place of hope and joy amidst devastation. HERE is a link to the trailer…I dare you not to swell up with tears and happiness while watching it.
There are so many wonderful things about this film—the perseverance of these women; their partnership with the owner of an ice cream shop in Brooklyn called Blue Marble, who helped them realize their dreams; and just the thrill of seeing men, women, and children eat soft serve ice cream for the first time in their lives. The shop has been such a success, that a similar one is being planned in Haiti.
If you’re interested in seeing the film, you can host a screening in your community (go HERE for more information). I’m searching right now for a place to host one, possibly at a school, library, or municipal space! Hopefully we can all help bring this incredible story to many more people!
