Desmond Tutu documentary opens FIFDA Paris with a focus on justice and forgiveness

Karen Hayes’ documentary The Foolishness of God will open the 16th Festival International des Films de la Diaspora Africaine in Paris on Sept. 4, 2026, with a post-screening discussion and reception. The film follows Archbishop Desmond Tutu across major reconciliation efforts and asks what forgiveness can mean alongside accountability.

Why it matters: - The opening-night slot gives Karen Hayes’ documentary a prominent launch in Paris as FIFDA spotlights stories from Africa and the global African diaspora. - The film centers a live question for audiences: how justice, truth-telling and forgiveness can coexist after mass violence. - The screening also underscores the growing visibility of Black women filmmakers and producers in international documentary spaces.

What happened: - "The Foolishness of God: A Forgiveness Journey with Desmond Tutu" will open the 16th Festival International des Films de la Diaspora Africaine on Friday, Sept. 4, 2026, at 7 p.m. at Cinéma CGR Paris Lilas in Paris. - The screening is presented in collaboration with the Observatoire de la Diversité Culturelle. - A discussion with director Karen Hayes and story editor/producer Rana Kazkaz will follow the screening, along with an opening-night reception. - Sandra J. Evers-Manly is supporting the film’s international journey as producer and executive producer.

The details: - The documentary was filmed over more than 15 years. - The film follows Hayes accompanying Archbishop Desmond Tutu through major chapters of modern history, beginning with South Africa’s first democratic election. - The story moves through the aftermath of the Rwandan genocide, South Africa’s Truth and Reconciliation Commission, and later reconciliation efforts in the Solomon Islands. - The film includes rare footage, encounters with survivors and perpetrators, and Hayes’ conversations with Tutu about justice and forgiveness. - Hayes said she began expecting to make a film about justice, but Tutu wanted to persuade the world to forgive the unforgivable. - The film examines forgiveness as a possible way to reclaim dignity and power, not as forgetting or excusing injustice. - The documentary asks whether truth-telling can restore dignity, whether reconciliation is possible without accountability, and whether forgiveness can release survivors without diminishing harm. - The journey becomes personal when Hayes questions Tutu about childhood violence and his regret over never reconciling with his father. - That exchange pushes Hayes to confront unresolved family pain. - Evers-Manly is the founder and president of the Black Hollywood Education and Resource Center, which she established in 1996. - Evers-Manly said she has spent more than 33 years working to ensure Black women and diverse filmmakers have resources, visibility and freedom to tell stories through their own cultural lens. - Evers-Manly also executive produced "A Better Way: James Lawson, Architect of Nonviolence," another Hayes documentary. - Kazkaz helped shape the film’s exploration of justice, memory and reconciliation and will discuss the film’s creative journey in Paris.

Between the lines: - FIFDA’s selection signals that the film fits a festival program focused on spiritual, political, social, colonial and personal memory. - The documentary’s framing suggests a wider argument: reconciliation is not presented as a neat resolution, but as a difficult process tied to power, truth and survival. - The Paris opening also reflects a broader push to elevate filmmakers whose lived experience shapes the questions they ask on screen. - FIFDA was founded in Paris in 2009 and is not affiliated with FIFA. - The 4-6 September 2026 festival program includes 15 films from 13 countries and territories.

What's next: - The film will screen at Cinéma CGR Paris Lilas as part of FIFDA’s opening-night program. - Hayes and Kazkaz are expected to discuss the film after the screening. - Festival passes and program information are available on the festival website, and film details are available on the production website: Program and tickets and Film information.

The bottom line: - "The Foolishness of God" is arriving in Paris as both a documentary premiere and a public test of a hard idea: forgiveness can be part of justice, but only if truth and accountability remain intact.