When and Where Does Trees of Peace Take Place? – Trees of Peace is a Netflix original drama that is now available. The film follows four ladies from various backgrounds and beliefs who are caught in the middle of a genocide.
Set in April 1994, Jeannette, Annick, Peyton, and Mutesi are stranded in a cellar, where they must struggle for survival against all obstacles. Throughout the film, however, they become inextricably linked by an unbreakable sisterhood forged by their tragic circumstances.
Set against one of the most heartbreaking events of the twentieth century, the movie succeeds in portraying the horrors of the catastrophe. Let us be your ally if you want to learn more about the period film’s location!
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‘Trees of Peace’ Synopsis
The story of Trees of Peace is based on historical events and takes place in Rwanda during the 1994 genocide. The story follows four strong women from various origins as they take tremendous measures to survive the horrifying event while imprisoned in hiding together, creating an unbreakable relationship.
Where and When was Trees of Peace Set?
In 1994, the movie ‘Trees of Peace’ was set in Rwanda, a country on the African continent. The film opens in April 1994, following the killing of Hutu president Juvénal Habyarimana. The assassination opened the stage for the Rwandan genocide to begin. When Hutu perpetrators began killing Tutsis and Hutu moderates in April 1994, Annick, Mutesi, Jeanette, and Peyton began sheltering in the underground storage room. Annick and Francois are Hutu moderates in the film, members of the Hutu ethnic group who the perpetrators targeted for refusing to take part in the genocide.
Annick’s house, notably the basement storage room where she hides with Mutesi, Jeanette, and Peyton, is the setting for the entire film. In Rwanda, between April 1994 and the end of the genocide, an estimated 100,000-250,000 women were raped, in addition to hundreds of thousands of deaths. The awful fate of Akimana, who is raped and slain by Hutu perpetrators in the film, reflects the destinies of perhaps a quarter-million Rwandan women.
Francois mentions the refugee camp to his wife, Hôtel des Mille Collines, in Kigali, Rwanda’s capital and largest city. During the genocide, the hotel provided refuge for roughly 2,000 individuals. When the genocide ends in July 1994 with the Hutu troops retreating, Annick, Mutesi, Jeanette, and Peyton emerge from the storage room. On July 4, 1994, in Kigali, the Rwandan Patriotic Front won their struggle against Rwandan government forces. When the four women emerge from the storage area, Francois greets them and offers the soldiers assistance.
Because Annick, Mutesi, Jeanette, and Peyton spend 81 days hiding in the storage room, the film ends in the second half of July 1994. The Rwandan genocide claimed the lives of over one million individuals, according to the United Nations. Annick and the others do everything they can to avoid becoming four of the thousands of people who perish around them.
Although the film primarily tells the story of four Rwandan women, filmmaker Alanna Brown has stated that her work has a universal appeal. Nonetheless, the genocide in Rwanda serves as a vital aspect of the widely compelling story.
“The script was designed to portray the true events of the Rwandan genocide, as well as the collective spirit that exists within us all.” Many of the hopes, fears, losses, and successes in this story are universal, whether we’ve seen death or not, whether we’ve lived in Rwanda or not,” Brown wrote on the film’s Kickstarter page.
‘Trees of Peace’ was shot entirely in North Hollywood, a Los Angeles neighbourhood in the San Fernando Valley, California, despite the fact that it is set in Rwanda.
Trees of Peace is now available to watch on Netflix with subscription.
