At the premiere of Ethiopian film Guzo in New York City on Saturday, August 8, 2009. (Tadias video )
Tadias Magazine
By Tadias Staff
Published: Monday, August 10, 2009
New York (TADIAS) – The award-winning Ethiopian film Guzo premiered at Helen Mills Theatre in New York City on Saturday, August 8, 2009 and received big thumbs up from the audience.
Robel and Lydia, two Addis Ababa urbanites, felt they had what it takes to live and survive in the countryside, doing the daily chores and farming with their respective host families. By day 17 they “wanted to go home.” Guzo does a spectacular job of capturing rural life, from grueling long walks to the market to late night Areqe inspired talk and dance. Robel and Lydia learn it is no small feat to survive and raise a family under such harsh and oftentimes monotonous conditions. Robel’s host mentions he will not miss Robel at work but bends his head and weeps when he realizes their days are numbered. A farmer’s wife, Belge, confesses that Lydia is the first female friend she’s had, and knows she will miss her for years to come. Guzo pulls at your heartstrings, often making you laugh till your belly aches and then suddenly forcing tears to well up in your eyes. It captures the beauty of Ethiopian culture, tradition, and all the heartache that comes with living with little resources. Although both Robel and Lydia claim that one cannot fully understand and appreciate rural life until they live it everyday, watching them work and survive 20 days brings one as close to the feeling as one could ever get.
The following Tadias video captures the audience’s reaction to Guzo.
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I enjoyed the movie so much. I laughed until my stomach hurt and I cried like a baby. This is a must see!!!
Congratulations Aida Ashenafi.
Last but not least, Thank you so much Tadias and crew for the wonderful work you guys do!! Big Thank you! And keep up the good work.
Mahlet
NYC
Hi, just wondering, when is this movie going to premier in London?
my problem is i didn’t see the film, because of my generalization that Ethiopian films are characterized by high production costs and low quality and creativity.
As to me, i love the way the film was made. it is a bit unusual and one step forward for Ethiopian film Industry which is so poor in new ideas, creativity, production.anything else?
so for my own judgment , i have to see it. but i don’t know where i can get it. please Aida can u help me getting into it?
This is a must see movie. Terrific in every aspect! When is it coming to the West Coast?
Cheers,
Nebil
Big appreciation for Tadias Magazine, always.. hope you let us know when it shows in Washington DC…
I loved this film! I recommend it to one and all! I laughed and cried. The cinematography of the countryside was breath-taking. Excellent production. Thank you Tsehai and Tadias for the wonderful coverage and promotion of this documentary. Congratulations, Aida!
This is Aida Ashenafi checking in from Addis. Thank you all so much for your support.
And this is the film Edna Mall (Addis Ababa’s new movie theater around Bole Medhanialem) would not show saying it was substandard. Seems that it is rather the other way around!
My family and I have seen Guzo in Washington D.C. and it was wonderful in terms of story, content and the way it was made. It was very funny. I laughed at the end, I choked and, yes, I cried. It was a movie needed to be made. It had no boring politics, no violence, no HIV story, no mother india flavor, not even bad words. This was a clean familly oriented movie. Really great film. I give it B+. And I recommend for everyone to see it.