Even in Canada, the news was dominated by O.J. Simpson. It was June 1994, and Simpson's alleged murder of his wife, Nicole Brown Simpson, and her friend Ronald Goldman saturated the country's airwaves and headlines, squeezing out any substantive reports about the continuing genocide in Rwanda.

Reflecting on that period, Toronto documentarian Peter Raymont says he was almost embarrassed by his ignorance of the central African country. Though Raymont was a veteran filmmaker with an interest in international affairs, and though the United Nations' peacekeeping force in Rwanda was headed by a Canadian, Romeo Dallaire, Raymont was as mesmerized by "O.J. mania" as anyone else.

"O.J. Simpson was the only story on every newscast," says Raymont, who since that time has made two documentaries in Rwanda, the most recent being "Shake Hands With the Devil: The Journey of Romeo Dallaire." "The Rwandan genocide just didn't register. I remember vaguely (hearing) about tribal warfare in this obscure country, but that was about it."

Raymont's post-genocide interest in Rwanda has dovetailed with a greater public focus on the country. In the past year, a spate of worthwhile books and movies have come out to critical acclaim, including "Hotel Rwanda" and the riveting HBO feature "Sometimes in April." Raymont's new documentary, which opened Friday, follows Dallaire as he returns to Rwanda for the 10-year commemoration of the killings that eventually became front-page news and shocked the world.

Dallaire is an ideal subject for a film. He tried to stop the worst concentration of mass killing since the Holocaust despite a paucity of support from U.N. headquarters in New York. While saving thousands of lives, Dallaire and his soldiers were overwhelmed by the genocidal Hutus who killed more than 800,000 people. Dallaire still feels guilty about what more he could have done to prevent the slaughter.

By capturing Dallaire's return to Rwanda, Raymont revisits the question of how the genocide happened, how the international community let the country down -- and how much responsibility Dallaire should really bear for the deaths that happened there.

While many believe Dallaire was a hero for his actions in Rwanda, a minority of people say he should have done more -- that instead of acceding to U.N. demands that he remain neutral, Dallaire should have more actively confiscated weapons, should have more widely fought Hutu extremists. There's no question how Raymont feels about Dallaire.

"He's a hero for me," says Raymont in the phone interview from his Toronto home. "He risked his life to stay on when he was told to come home. He saved tens of thousands of lives. When he came back, he (became) a hero to many military people in Canada for being so outspoken about post-traumatic stress. This has allowed many people who suffer from this psychological problem to come out of the closet and seek psychiatric help and not feel ashamed about it. He's a hero in many ways."

Raymont, 55, whose father was a colonel, and Dallaire, 58, hit it off when they met. Dallaire didn't mind that Raymont had paid little attention to Rwanda during the height of the genocide. Dallaire is less forgiving of governments (including the United States) that ignored Rwanda's killing spree except to rescue their own citizens. He's also less forgiving of himself, even though Rwanda experts interviewed in "Shake Hands With the Devil" unanimously say that Dallaire -- a decorated lieutenant-general -- did everything he could to prevent further bloodshed.

Today, Dallaire takes medication to deal with the lasting horrors of his assignment in Rwanda. Shortly after returning to Canada from Rwanda, he tried to commit suicide. He talked openly about all this during the filming of "Shake Hands With the Devil." Dallaire's honesty is what helps make him an ideal subject for Raymont's film.

In a phone interview, Dallaire says he's more at peace with himself than ever before, crediting "therapy and medication," the writing of his memoir, and his testifying in early 2004 at a tribunal against the genocide's biggest alleged ringleader, Theoneste Bagosora. "Having gone through that and seeing the real bad guys in front of the tribunal had a major, major impact," Dallaire says.

In the years before that, Dallaire wouldn't even consider Raymont's offer to make a film together. In fact, Raymont spent five years contacting and re- contacting Dallaire. Not until Dallaire wrote his book about his experiences in Africa, "Shake Hands With the Devil: The Failure of Humanity in Rwanda," did he seriously mull Raymont's request.

Dallaire's book was released in Canada in late 2003. An instant best- seller, the book gave Raymont the background to understand Dallaire's continuing resolve to do more about the ghosts of Rwanda. Dallaire has established a foundation that helps children in Rwanda. Last month, Dallaire completed a fellowship at Harvard's Carr Center for Human Rights Policy, where he studied child soldiers and ways to resolve international conflict. As soon as the fellowship ended, Dallaire flew to Ethiopia, where he led a Canadian delegation at a conference on Sudan's Darfur region.

Raymont's movie, Dallaire says, is another way to raise awareness about Rwanda's legacy. But whether he likes it or not, "Shake Hands With the Devil" is also a chance to peer into Dallaire's inner thoughts -- to get to know a man who says he's not a hero but "a humanist." If history is best understood through the decisions of individual men and women, then Raymont's film lets audiences revisit the siege of Rwanda through the eyes of a retired officer (and newly appointed Canadian senator) who tried to prevent hell on earth.

Raymont has directed or produced more than 100 documentaries -- about everything from Nicaragua after the Sandinistas ("The World Stopped Watching") to illegal immigrants in Canada ("Invisible Nation: Policing the Underground"). Already, "Shake Hands With the Devil" is his most popular work -- it's been sold for release or broadcast throughout Europe, Asia and the Americas. Raymont says he wasn't prepared for the reception the film and Dallaire received at film festivals. Standing ovations for Dallaire -- even before the screenings -- were common. Eleven years after the Rwandan genocide, there seems to be more interest than ever before in understanding how it happened. Better late than never, say Raymont and Dallaire.

"Any instrument that will permit the Rwanda genocide to stay alive, I'm for it," says Dallaire, who would like to live in Rwanda for a year. "I just don't want the focus to stay away from the Rwandans and what they've gone through. My aim is to use every opportunity to keep the Rwandan genocide alive to prevent other ones."

“Shake Hands With the Devil: The Journey of Romeo Dallaire” opens today at the Opera Plaza.