"Hotel Rwanda" is a movie based on the true story of a hotel manager who sheltered more than 1,200 refugees after the West turned a blind eye to that country’s genocidal violence a decade ago.

The director hopes to create debate on African conflicts and the peacekeeping obligations of the world community.

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Beyond stirring debate among diplomats, George clearly hopes his movie will prick the conscience of world leaders who failed to intervene to avert the Rwandan genocide. "I want Kofi Annan to see this," he said, "and BillClinton. That’s the goal."

WashingtonPost.com: This 'Hotel' Features a Bustling Lobby

State Department employees packed an auditorium yesterday afternoon for a sneak preview of a Golden Globe-nominated movie, but it was all about work, not recreation. The flick is "Hotel Rwanda," based on the searing true story of a hotel manager who sheltered more than 1,200 refugees after the West turned a blind eye to that country’s genocidal violence a decade ago.

"Over 500 people came, and they were clearly moved by the film," director Terry George told us after the screening. "We had a fairly good discussion about peacemaking today and the situation in Darfur and the Congo."

As you might have guessed by now, "Hotel Rwanda," which stars Don Cheadle and opens in Washington in January, isn’t escapist fare. George, an Irish filmmaker best known for collaborations with his friend Jim Sheridan on "The Boxer" and "In the Name of the Father," has also shown his new movie to packed audiences at the United Nations and the Holocaust Museum in Washington. His goal: to provoke debate on African conflicts and the peacekeeping obligations of the world community. He said he undertook the project because "I felt that the Hollywood industry actively avoids movies about Africa—if it’s a safari movie, it’s fine, but the political situation is not dealt with at all."

George, 52, was caught up in sectarian strife in Northern Ireland before moving his family to New York and embarking on a writing career. A former journalist (and New Yorker fact checker), he assiduously researched the tribal slaughter depicted in "Hotel Rwanda." "I was fastidious about knowing the reality and what I had to compress," he told us. "There is that responsibility to the future and to history."

Beyond stirring debate among diplomats, George clearly hopes his movie will prick the conscience of world leaders who failed to intervene to avert the Rwandan genocide. "I want Kofi Annan to see this," he said, "and BillClinton. That’s the goal."