Eliane Umuhire has built a career that moves fluidly between African cinema, European co-productions and international productions. From her award-winning performance in Birds Are Singing in Kigali to her appearance in the Hollywood film A Quiet Place: Day One, the French-Rwandan actress has become one of the most internationally recognized performers to emerge from Rwanda’s contemporary film scene.

Her notable screen appearances include Birds Are Singing in Kigali, Neptune Frost, Trees of Peace, Omen, and A Quiet Place: Day One.

Born in Kigali in 1986, Umuhire developed an early interest in storytelling and performance. Growing up in a family that valued culture and education, she was exposed to books and artistic expression from a young age. During her school years, a classroom performance during a French lesson introduced her to acting and sparked a curiosity about performing that would later shape her artistic path.

Although her early interests leaned toward storytelling and performance, Umuhire initially pursued a different academic direction. She studied accounting at the National University of Rwanda in Butare while continuing to explore theatre and performance. During her university years she joined the school’s theatre activities, an experience that encouraged her to pursue acting more seriously.

Umuhire later refined her craft at some of Rwanda’s leading performing arts institutions. She trained at Mashirika Performing Arts and Media Company under the guidance of theatre director Hope Azeda and continued her development at the Ishyo Arts Center alongside actress and cultural leader Carole Karemera. Her artistic development coincided with the gradual growth of Rwanda’s contemporary film and theatre scene, where institutions such as Mashirika and Ishyo have played an important role in nurturing new creative voices.

She began appearing in film projects in the mid-2010s, including Kivu Ruhorahoza’s Things of the Aimless Wanderer and Clémentine Dusabijambo’s Behind the World. Both films premiered at the Sundance Film Festival, introducing her work to international audiences and marking an important early step in her screen career.

Her international breakthrough came with the Polish drama Birds Are Singing in Kigali (2017), directed by Krzysztof Krauze and Joanna Kos-Krauze. In the film, Umuhire portrays Claudine Mugambira, a survivor of the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi attempting to rebuild her life while confronting the trauma of the past. Her performance received widespread critical praise and earned her several Best Actress awards at international film festivals.

Following that success, Umuhire continued to take part in projects that explore complex social and political themes. She appeared in the Afrofuturist musical Neptune Frost (2021), directed by Saul Williams and Anisia Uzeyman, and later starred in Trees of Peace, which follows four women hiding together during the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi. Through these roles, she has shown a consistent interest in stories that explore history, identity and social memory.

Her filmography also includes Omen (Augure), directed by Belgian-Congolese filmmaker and musician Baloji. The film premiered at the Cannes Film Festival in 2023, where it won the Un Certain Regard New Voice Prize before gaining international recognition across festivals.

In 2024, Umuhire was invited to serve as a jury member for the 63rd Critics’ Week (Semaine de la Critique) at the Cannes Film Festival. The prestigious parallel section focuses on discovering emerging filmmakers through their first or second feature films, and her appointment reflected the growing recognition of her work within international cinema circles.

Her international visibility expanded further with an appearance in the Hollywood production A Quiet Place: Day One (2024), the prequel to the successful horror franchise. In the film she plays Zena opposite Djimon Hounsou, while Lupita Nyong’o leads the cast as a woman trying to survive the first day of a catastrophic alien invasion in New York City.

In 2025, Umuhire was named honorary “Marraine” (Godmother) of the Pavillon Afriques at the Cannes Film Festival, an initiative dedicated to promoting African cinema and strengthening connections between African filmmakers and the global film industry.

Beyond acting, Umuhire has also become increasingly involved in initiatives aimed at strengthening collaboration within the film industry. Later in 2025, she helped bring the Paris-based initiative Girls Support Girls to Kigali, creating a space for exchange between Rwandan and French women working in cinema and the creative industries. Developed in collaboration with publicist Karolyne Lebovici and producer Vanessa Djian, the program focuses on mentorship, networking and creative dialogue while encouraging new opportunities for women filmmakers.

Alongside her work in film, Umuhire has remained active in theatre and artistic collaborations, participating in stage productions and international creative projects that bring together artists from different cultural backgrounds.

Her upcoming projects include Call Me Queen, an international film set in Nairobi during the late 1990s at the height of the AIDS crisis. The story follows the friendship between a Rwandan woman living in Kenya and a foreign journalist, exploring themes of resilience, solidarity and survival.

Living between France and Rwanda, Umuhire continues to expand a career that bridges cultures, industries and storytelling traditions. As her body of work grows across festival cinema, international co-productions and studio films, she remains part of a generation of African performers bringing new voices and perspectives to global screens.