Current Fragmented Film Festival and its Impact on the Process of Building Film Industry in Ethiopia

Paulos Aemero

doi:10.55544/ijrah.2.4.59

Authors

Paulos Aemero Lecturer & Director of Cultural Centre, Addis Ababa University, ETHIOPIA.

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.55544/ijrah.2.4.59

Keywords:

Film festivals, festival conspiracy, Film Company

Abstract

This study aimed at examining the current film festivals and filmmaking impact on the process of film company building process in Ethiopia. Thus, in this study qualitative research method was employed. Both primary and secondary sources of data were gathered where the primary data was collected through key informant interviews having 19 film maker participants of the film industry, Directors cinematographers including academicians in Ethiopian Universities in the field of film and Theatre Arts. The secondary date was obtained through books, articles and journals. The data was analyzed by using document and thematic analysis techniques. The study found out that limited or independent film festival preparation, frequent coping from western and European film festival ideas, ineffective film production systems, loose producers company unity, lack of government support on the national film festival, an increase in film festival conspiracy, the financial, human and material constraints, acceptability gaps, the issue of departure film making action and disintegration weakened the unity and strength of the Ethiopian film festival as a whole thereby pretention obstacle in the film company building process in Ethiopia. Finally, this study recommended that strong Film company institutions are mandatory to gather crumbled Ethiopian film festivals and strength which will in turn amalgamate film corporation & film company formation process in Ethiopia.

Downloads

Download data is not yet available.

Metrics

Metrics Loading ...

References

Armes, R. (2006). African Filmmaking: North and South of the Sahara. Indiana University Press.

Armes, R. (2008). Dictionary of African Filmmakers. Indiana University Press.

Ashagrie, A. (2012). The role of women on the Ethiopian stage. Journal of African Cultural Studies, 24(1), 1–8. Journal of Cultural and Religious Studies 4, no.12 (2017) : 711-720.

Ashagrie, A. (2017). Ethiopian Cinema: The Socio-economic and political impacts of Imperial Era on the Development of Screen Media,

Ashagrie, A. (2013). “አትሌቱ’’— The Athlete: A movie about the Ethiopian barefooted Olympic champion. Journal of African Cultural Studies, 25(1), 119–121.

Bahru, Z. (2002). A history of Modern Ethiopia: 1855-1991. Addis Ababa : Addis Ababa University press.

Bahru, Z. (1991) A history of modern Ethiopia 1855-1974) Athens, Ohio University press.

Bahru, Z. (2002) pioneers of change in Ethiopia. Addis Ababa Addis Ababa University Press.

Bakari, I. (2018). African film in the 21st Century: Some notes to a provocation. 1, 8–27.

Barlet, O. (2015). Ethiopian Cinema Today: An Interview with Ethiopian Filmmakers Yamrot Nigussie, Hiwot Admasu Getaneh, Hermon Hailay, Adanech Admasu, and Debebe Daniel Negatu. Black Camera, 6(2), 221–228.

Barlet, O. (2016). Contemporary African Cinema. MSU Press.

Belachew, T. (2012) “Representation of the Self: Theological Reflections on Haile Gerima’s Cinematic Storytelling,” Master’s thesis, Trinity Evangelical Divinity School

Belachew, T. (2018, “The Dead Speaking to the Living: Religio-Cultural Symbolisms in the Amharic Films of Haile Gerim,” 67 – 91. In Cine-Ethiopia: The History and Politics of Film in the Horn of Africa, Michigan State University Press.

Bisschoff, L. (2013a). Representing Africa in the UK: Programming the Africa in Motion Film Festival. Research in African Literatures, 44(2), 142–162.

Bisschoff, L. (2013b). Representing Africa in the UK: Programming the Africa in Motion Film Festival. Research in African Literatures, 44(2), 142–162.

Bisschoff, L., & Overbergh, A. (2012). Digital as the New Popular in African Cinema? Case Studies from the Continent. Research in African Literatures, 43(4), 112–127.

Chinese Film Festivals:(2018). Sites of Translation | Chris Berry, Luke Robinson (eds.) | University of Kansas Press.

Chineweizu,B.(1988) Voices from Twentieth Century Africa. London university press.

Diawara, M. (1992). African Cinema: Politics & Culture. Indiana University Press.

Carole, R. (2015). Documentary Film Festivals: Transformative Learning, Community Building & Solidarity | Michigan university press.

Dovey, L. (2009). African Film and Literature: Adapting Violence to the Screen. Columbia University Press.

Dovey, L. (2010). African film and video: Pleasure, politics, performance. Journal of African Cultural Studies, 22(1), 1–6.

Dovey, L., & Impey, A. (2010). African Jim: Sound, politics, and pleasure in early ‘black’ South African cinema. Journal of African Cultural Studies, 22(1), 57–73.

Dovey, L., & Lakew, R. (2013). Interview with Rasselas Lakew: “Tarifa African Film Festival”, May 2010. Journal of African Cultural Studies, 25(1), 107–113.

Encyclopedia Britannica (undated) ‘Film Festival’ britannica.com [Online] [Accessed 05 February 2020]

Erschienen: St Andrews : St Andrews Film Studies, 2010 Umfang XIV, 286: III.

Fantahun E. 1985. “Yesinima Bet Tarik Bethiopia.” BA diss., University of Addis Ababa.

FFRN (2014) ‘Film Festival Research Network Homepage’ filmfestivalresearch.org [Online] [Accessed 02 November 2019] http://www.filmfestivalresearch.org

FFRN (2014b) ‘Specialized Film Festivals’ filmfestivalresearch.org [Online] [Accessed 02 November 2019]

Fikadu L. (2013). Yefĳilm Guday: Ye’abujedi Girgir/Film’s yoda prenting press.

Fischer, A. (2009) Conceptualising Basic Film Festival Operation: An Open System Paradigm. Dissertation. Australia: Bond University, School of Humanities

Gerima, H. (2009) “Who is Haile Gerima?” Focus Magazine 1:10 (January February) 10-13.

Gerima, H. (2013) “Close-Up: Director’s Note,” Black Camera, 2 An International Film Journal, Vol. 4 No. 2 (Spring 2013), 47–48.

Gerima, H (1984) “Fireplace-Cinema (Gathering, Warming and Sharing).” Filmfaust 39:44–55.

Gerima, H. (1985) “Visual Footprint: The Battle for the Film Frame.” In Journey across Three Continents, edited by Renee Tajima, 26–27. New York: Third World Newsreel.

Gerima, H. (1989) “Triangular Cinema, Breaking Toys, and Dinknesh vs Lucy.” In Questions of Third Cinema, edited by Jim Pines and Paul Willemen, 65–89. London: BFI Publishing.

Gerima, H. (1991) “In the Image of Africa.” Index on Censorship 20 (3): 19. —. 1995. “Visions of Resistance.” Sight & Sound 5 (9): 32–39.

Gerima, H. (2000). “What Is the Link between Chosen Genres and Developed Ideologies in African Cinema?” In Symbolic Narratives/African Cinema: Audiences, Theory and the Moving Image, edited by June Givanni, 122–133. London: British Film Institute.

Hailu K. (1986) “Yeflilm Tibebe Bethiopia.” BA diss., University of Addis Ababa.

Harrow, K. (1999). African Cinema: Postcolonial and Feminist Readings. Africa World Press.

Harrow, K. (2013). Trash: African Cinema from Below. Indiana University Press.

Harrow, K. W., & Garritano, C. (2018). A Companion to African Cinema. John Wiley & Sons.

Haynes, J. (2010). A literature review: Nigerian and Ghanaian videos. Journal of African Cultural Studies, 22(1), 105–120.

Hermon Hailay, Director. Price of Love (Yefĳiqir Waga).” African Studies Review59 (1):237–239.

Jedlowski, A. (2015) “Screening Ethiopia: A Preliminary Study of the History and Contemporary Developments of Film Production in Ethiopia.” Journal of African Cinemas 7 (2): 169–185.

Krings, M. (2010). A prequel to Nollywood: South African photo novels and their pan-African consumption in the late 1960s. Journal of African Cultural Studies, 22(1), 75–89.

Mano, W., Knorpp, B., & Agina, A. (2017). African Film Cultures: Contexts of Creation and Circulation. Cambridge Scholars Publishing.

Marijkede V. (2008) Film Festivals: From European Geopolitics to Global Cinephilia. Amsterdam: Amsterdam University Press, 186–7.

Meyer, B. (2010). ‘Tradition and colour at its best’: ‘Tradition’ and ‘heritage’ in Ghanaian video-movies. Journal of African Cultural Studies, 22(1), 7–23.

Milkias, P. (2011). Ethiopia. Santa Barbara: ABC-CLIO. Thomas, Michael W. 2015. “The Local Film Sensation in Ethiopia: Aesthetic Comparisons with African Cinema and Alternative Experiences.” Black Camera 7 (1): 17–41. —. 2016.

Michael W. Thomas, Jedlowski, A., & Ashagrie, A. (2018). Cine-Ethiopia: The History and Politics of Film in the Horn of Africa. Michigan State University Press.

Orlando, V. (2017). New African Cinema. Rutgers University Press.

Paulos A. (2018) Film directing technique, Addis Ababa University.

Paulos, E. (1982). Empirore Minilike. Berhannenaselam printing house first edition.

Paleker, G. (2010). The B-Scheme subsidy and the ‘black film industry’ in apartheid South Africa, 1972–1990. Journal of African Cultural Studies, 22(1), 91–104.

Pfaff, F. (2004). Focus on African Films. Indiana University Press.

Prabhu, A. (2014). Contemporary Cinema of Africa and the Diaspora. John Wiley & Sons.

Reynolds, G. (2015). Colonial Cinema in Africa: Origins, Images, Audiences. McFarland.

Rio de Janeiro Film Festival. (2020). Heinlein Robert Ansonlondon university press.

Russell, S. A. (1998). Guide to African Cinema. Greenwood Publishing Group.

Saul, M., & Austen, R. A. (2010). Viewing African Cinema in the Twenty-First Century: Art Films and the Nollywood Video Revolution. Ohio University Press.

Screenwriting (101) by Film Crit Hulk! | Film Crit Hulk London university press.

Sundance to Sarajevo. (2015). Film Festivals and the World They Made. Pariss university press.

Sundance Sarajevo:(2017). Film Festivals and the World They Made Michigan university pres.

Tcheuyap, A. (2010). Comedy of power, power of comedy: Strategic transformations in African cinemas. Journal of African Cultural Studies, 22(1), 25–40.

Turan., K. (2002) Sundance to Sarajevo: Film Festivals and the World They Made. Berkley: University of California Press

Ukadike, N. F. (1994). Black African Cinema. University of California Press.

Ukadike, N. F. (2002). Questioning African Cinema: Conversations with Filmmakers. University of Minnesota Press.

Wendl, T. (2004.) “Wicked Villagers and the Mysteries of Reproduction: An Exploration of Horror Movies from Ghana and Nigeria.” In African Media Cultures: Transdisciplinary Perspectives, edited by Rose-Marie Beck and Franck Wittmann, 263–285. Cologne: Köppe.

Wilinsky. B (2001) Sure Seaters: The Emergence of Art house Cinema. Minnesota: Minnesota Press.

Wong, C. (2011) Film Festivals: Culture, People, and Power on the Global Screen. New York: Rutgers University Press.