For the past decade, Ethiopia has boasted the world’s fastest-growing economy, and its new reform-minded government seems determined to harness that growth to transform an already vibrant creative sector.
That was the takeaway from a presentation Sunday morning at the Berlinale Africa Hub, led by producer Mehret Mandefro (“Difret”) and director Abraham Gezahagne, who outlined the opportunities and challenges for the film and TV industry in Africa’s second-most populous nation.
Ethiopia’s production sector is booming, with roughly 175 films released in 2018 and fervid support from audiences hungry for local content. “A lot of our films don’t end up crossing over [into the international market], but it’s a really burgeoning scene,” said Mandefro.
The industry has begun to look outward in recent years, following the festival success of films like “Difret,” the 2014 Sundance audience award winner executive produced by Angelina Jolie and directed by Zeresenay Berhane Mehari, and “Sweetness in the Belly,” the 2018 Toronto player also directed by Mehari.
Those movies have helped the Ethiopian government, led since 2018 by Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed, to recognize the potential of the film industry as not only a cultural force but a prime driver of economic growth.