Three Ethiopian films, Bilatena, If Only I Were That Warrior and Asni are part of the 23rd Annual African Diaspora International Film Festival being held in NYC from November 27th to December 13th, 2015. (ADIFF)
Tadias Magazine
By Tadias Staff
Published: Friday, November 13th, 2015
New York (TADIAS) — This year’s African Diaspora International Film Festival, which kicks off on November 27th in New York City, features three recent Ethiopian films including Rachel Samuel’s Asni: Courage & Glamour in Ethiopia, Kinfe Banbu’s Bilatena, and the U.S. premier of Valerio Ciriaci’s If Only I Were That Warrior, a documentary about the Italian occupation of Ethiopia.
The Ethiopian films are scheduled to be screened on Saturday, December 12th at Teachers College, Columbia University.
Organizers said the filmmakers will be present for a Q&A following the screenings of their films.
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If You Go:
ADIFF 2015: ETHIOPIA- PAST & PRESENT
Below is the schedule and trailers:
Asni: Courage & Glamour in Ethiopia
December 12th at 4pm
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Asni Documentary from Samuel Overton Photography on Vimeo.
“It was a privilege for me to direct a documentary on this extraordinary artist who is as much a cultural icon to Ethiopians as Billie Holiday is to Americans and Edith Piaf to the French. Asnaketch lived her life on the edge of her artistry, over the edge of her passions. But to separate Asnaketch from the social and political climate of conservative Ethiopia, particularly in 50’s and 60’s was impossible. Artists in that time were looked down upon, called derogatorily, “Azmari.” which the church deemed as, “…those not going to heaven.” So this doc is as much about my country, my music, my culture as it is about this original being, Asnaketch, who is a substantive part of the fabric of Ethiopia, past and present.” – Rachel Samuel, Director. Directed by Rachel Samuel, Ethiopia, 2013, 80 min., documentary in Amharic with English subtitles
Bilatena
NY PREMIERE
December 12th at 6pm
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Abi, a dynamic and resourceful twelve year old boy, lives with his mother Degua and his 26 years old university graduate unemployed brother Zelalem (Zele). Abi, who is a hard working boy with two jobs, supports his poor mother and his older unemployed brother through their day to day lives. But when their mother dies of Hepatitus B and Abi is also infected by the virus, Zele must face the big challenge of supporting his own life and keeping his younger brother alive by earning the 20,000 Ethiopian birr per month needed for his brother’s medication. Directed by Kinfe Banbu, 2014, Ethiopia, Drama, 105 min, Amharic w/ English subtitles.
If Only I Were That Warrior
US PREMIERE
December 12th at 8:30pm
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The stories of three characters, filmed in present day Ethiopia, Italy and the United States, take the audience on a journey through the living memories and the tangible remains of the Italian occupation of Ethiopia — a journey that crosses generations and continents to today, where this often overlooked legacy still ties the fates of two nations and their people. Directed by Valerio Ciriaci, 2015, 72min, USA | Italy | Ethiopia, documentary in English, Italian and Amharic with English subtitles.
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