Although the Rwanda genocide took place 12 years ago, director Roger Spottiswoode still believes that not enough has been said about the tragic events and, more importantly, about the fact that the United Nations just stood aside and watched the conflict escalate, without taking the necessary steps to prevent the 800,000 deaths.

The director's point is that, in the 100 days of brutal massacre, the United Nations refused to answer calls and warnings coming from their leading officers stationed in Rwanda. The story, directly aimed at criticizing the part the UN played (or refused to play) in the conflict, is based upon Romeo Dallaire's book.

Dallaire was a Canadian general, present in Rwanda at the moment when the conflict began to enfold. Despite his desperate attempts to get in contact with his New York bosses, he had to remain in the country and silently assist at the butchering of thousands of Tutsi by the ethnic Hutu extremists. Later on, after he returned home and still traumatized by the things he saw, he tried to take his own life.

The Spottiswoode-directed movie is the third one to be released in the last two years, but it stands apart from the others by the major stress it places on the UN lack of involvement. 'Our film is about a man who was aware genocide was coming and tried to get the UN to allow him to do something about it, but it instead turned him down. It is really about the bigger issue of what the UN role is in situations like this', the director said, stating that another problem the film means to deal with is that of the lesson learned from the 1994 conflict.

Spottiswoode is best known for his previous work on the Bond series, 'Tomorrow Never Dies' but the fact that made him decide to take on such a controversial project consisted in the flaws of the international institution. 'The UN has proved to be a complicated and imperfect organization. Is it an institution that should be improved or destroyed? These are the questions raised in the movie'.

'Shake Hands with the Devil' is already in the works, with shooting beginning last month. It will be filmed in Rwanda in its entirety, starring Roy Dupuis as general Dallaire and it will run in cinemas in September 2007.