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Mostly, Hinson lets the subjects define forgiveness.

"How can I refuse to forgive when I'm a forgiven sinner too? According to God's Word, I am called to forgive [the killer], for I did not create this man," Rosaria says in the film. "Even my family that he killed—I did not create them either. His crime was against God, who created the people he killed. So I placed everything in the hands of God."

Rosaria and Saveri, who killed Rosaria's sister

Rosaria's own hands still don't work properly after the machete attack she survived in 1994, and As We Forgive picks up her story as she wonders how she will winnow her crop of sorghum. Saveri, the man who killed Rosaria's sister, is one of those who comes to help her so that she could move into the new house that he and other freed prisoners had built.

The film's main subjects—Rosaria, Saveri, Chantale, John, and Joy—are deeply aware of the significance of what they say and do. (At one point, Saveri, who admits to killing seven people during the genocide, says, "I did not believe there could be any deliverance for me." Such simple yet profound statements are what makes them such great teachers—and what makes the film such a significant accomplishment.

Hinson is aware of this: "My greatest hope is that God would use [As We Forgive] to bring about reconciliation on multiple levels in this broken world." She means not just those who lived through genocide, but also those who cannot comprehend it.

"This is the most incredible example of faith and courage and the resiliency of the human spirit that I've ever heard," Hinson says of the reconciliation efforts in Rwanda. "And I want people to be transformed by that and to believe that it's possible in their own lives. If Rwandans can forgive those who've slaughtered their own families, how much more can we forgive the small offenses in our lives?"

Susan Wunderink is assistant online editor for Christianity Today magazine.

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