The Cinema of Ethiopia and the film industry, in general, is a relatively recent phenomenon. Despite its late start, the Ethiopian film industry is growing, though it faces numerous challenges that have prevented it from fully flourishing. Ethiopia stands out as the only African nation with its own script and a rich history of ancient literary heritage, positioning it among the world's oldest civilizations.
Historically, live stage theater enjoyed more popularity in Ethiopia, creating a handful of relatively successful stage actors.
With regard to film, cinema was introduced to Ethiopia only three years after the world's first film was projected in Paris in December 28, 1895, by the Louis Lumiere brothers.
Map of Ethiopia in Africa
Early Introduction of Cinema
During Emperor Minilik II's reign, cinema was introduced to Ethiopia. Dr. Berhanuo Abebe noted that in 1898, a Frenchman from Algeria brought one of the first cinematic artifacts to Ethiopia and sold it to the Italian minister Ciccodicola, who presented it to Emperor Menilek as a gift.
Read also: Faith-Based Movies
Royal Viewings and Public Skepticism
According to historians Dr. Berhanuo and R. Pankhurst, Emperor Minilik watched several films in his palace for over a decade before the first public film screening occurred around 1909-1910. Some scholarly works suggest that the first public introduction to film was in 1923, marking 26 years after the first cinematography arrived in the country. However, 1923 is likely the year the first cinema house was owned and built by Ethiopians.
Dr. Berhanou further elaborated that a film house called 'Pate,' owned by MM. Baicovich, existed from 1909-1910. Initially, people were stunned by this magical invention, but their interest soon waned. A French historian, Merab, quoted by Dr. Richard Pankhurst, mentioned an attempt made in 1909-10 by some Armenians, but the project attracted only temporary interest and was soon abandoned.
Opposition and Naming Conventions
The clergy, who were very powerful and influential, intensely opposed this new medium, associating cinema with the devil's work. This is attested by the naming of the first cinema, which was opened in the year 1923. Cinema houses were called 'Ye Seytan Bet' (House of Satan), reflecting the perceived technological "devilry" of cinematographically combined images and movement.
Development and Challenges
In terms of film production, there were Ethiopians who made some documentaries and a few feature films, alongside a few feature films produced by foreigners. However, due to the significant investment required for filmmaking and the socio-political instability of the country, film production remained in its early stages for a long time.
Ethiopia was introduced to cinema through the natural course as other agencies of modernization-railway, postal, modern education, telephone, etc. were popularized in the country.
Read also: Nigerian Film History
Early Film Production
The first film known to be produced in Ethiopia was a short 16mm black-and-white film, produced by a certain Tedla on the occasion of Empress Zewditu's coronation day in 1917. The Production of film in Ethiopia continued during the Reign of Hailesselassie I with a film in his coronation.
Apart from introduction of film technology and screening, Arefayine, in his article points out the most important progressive phase in the history of Ethiopian film.
In November of 1928, Empress Zewditu of Ethiopia crowned Taffari Makonnen as King and Heir to the Throne of Ethiopia.
The Derg Era and Nationalization
After Hailesselassie I, following the popular revolutionary outburst of February 1974 against the archaic and oppressive feudal monarchy, the military dictatorship Derg tried to nationalize the existing commercial cinemas into People's Cinema with extreme censorship in place. During the Derg era, there was a brief period when only Russian films with communist messages were allowed to be screened. The nationalization of cinema houses led to a decrease in their number, rather than progress.
During the Derg era it is worth to mention that with the nationalization of the Cinema houses, there was a small period that only Russian films having a communist message were allowed to be screened.
Read also: Must-See African American Love Stories
In that period due to the nationalization of all cinema houses the number of cinema houses, instead of showing progress has gradually decreased.
However, this period also saw the production of films like “Harvest Three Thousand Years,” directed by Haile Gerima in 1976, which depicted the harsh life of peasantry under the feudal system.
Post-Derg Growth and Contemporary Challenges
After a long absence, the art of making movies with better qualities and concepts in Ethiopia has grown significantly in the past ten years, following the country’s recent economic growth.Since the early-to-mid 2000s, Ethiopia has experienced a phenomenal growth in the production of locally made video films.
Much like the video film industries that have emerged in other African nations such as Nigeria, Ghana and Tanzania, the Ethiopian industry has adopted a commercially driven model.
Films use Amharic, the lingua-franca of the country, as their main language, are funded by small-scale independent production companies (often emerging from video and music vending enterprises), and are shot in digital format and target mainly the local urban, lower-middle class youth of Addis Ababa.
Unlike in other African contexts the Ethiopian video film industry has adopted a straight to cinema model with many filmmakers and producers often wary of the VCD's vulnerability to piracy.
Coinciding with the growth of the video film industry has been the proliferation of private cinema's that attract Addis' lower-middle class who make up the majority of cinema-goers in the country.
Ethiopian film industry has experienced a robust growth over the past couple of decades.
But still the industry faces various kinds of challenges.
It consists of many small producers working with a tiny amount of capital; it therefore has not been able to build its own spaces-studios, theaters, office complexes and remain nearly invisible in the Addis Ababa city space, apart from film posters and the films themselves displayed for sale as cassettes or video compact discs.
The current growth and development of the industry is shapeless, it is not institutionalized, and it is full of untrained individuals who thought that film making is a profitable business area and a people who have a passion and interest.
In addition to this there are no educational institutions who train qualified film makers.
Apart from this there are so many studies on different areas of film practices in the west, Australia, China, India, Japan and few African countries like South Africa and Nigeria.
Generally, there is the significant absence of research on third world films specially those of Ethiopia.
Women in Ethiopian Cinema
Among the many stories about Ethiopia’s long, multifaceted past and politically complicated present, an extraordinary transformation that has received less media attention is the dramatic leap forward in its movie industry.
Before 2004, Ethiopia was producing only a few movies from time to time.
But, by 2015, almost 100 locally produced new features were hitting the theaters in its capital city, Addis Ababa, each year.
The prominent role of women in the industry may set Ethiopia apart from most other countries.
Across the globe, from Hollywood to Bollywood, film and TV industries have been dominated by men.
In a highly competitive industry where many people never make more than one movie, women have consistently enjoyed more enduring success as writers, directors, and producers.
Quite a few of the “firsts” in Ethiopia’s cinema history were accomplished by innovative women.
One such leader is Arsema Worku, a member of the executive board for Ethiopia’s Film Producers Association, which lobbies on behalf of filmmakers.
In addition to being an actress, Worku has written, directed, and produced movies for theater release.
One of Ethiopia’s most prolific and successful directors is Kidist Yilma.
Her popular movie Rebuni (2015) won Ethiopia’s most prestigious award, the Gumma.
It is about a young woman, Adey, who fights to protect her grandfather’s small farm from being taken over by a corporation.
Another major film, on the plight of migrant female workers from Ethiopia, is Sewnetwa (2019), written and produced by Eskedar Girmay with financial support from the International Labor Organization and the Ethiopian Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs.
Women have shaped the industry in other ways as well.
Until 2014, Ethiopia’s television stations tended to produce their own content-mostly news and a few serial dramas-and there was little connection between the movie industry and television.
But an entrepreneur named Feven Tadesse envisioned a different way of doing things.
She created the first show on Ethiopian television to not only broadcast new, locally made movies but also discuss them.
Viewers can vote on their favorite movies via text message.
Ethiopia’s various civic and academic venues contribute positively to the changes by fostering discussion of gender representation.
For example, the Alatinos Filmmakers Association has provided a forum where aspiring filmmakers can meet, debate, and share work.
Another organization called Sandscribe has hosted free film classes for the public.
A leading expert on the Ethiopian motion picture industry is Eyerusalem Kassahun, a theater arts professor at Addis Ababa University.
Popular articles:
tags: #Ethiopia
