Category: Reviews

Dinaw Mengestu is one of a cosmopolitan new generation of Ethiopian American writers.

An Ethiopian immigrant dreams of becoming the Spike Lee of Israel and decides to video document his community.

Ever so often a movie comes along that captures the spirit of an age, Parkwood Pictures’ Cadillac Records is such a movie.

Who would have thought that Jamaican Radio would initially refuse to play his music and the world would eventually beg to be the first to debut a new single when released or even pre-released?

Owner Hibist Legesse has described the food as “traditional Ethiopian with a focus on nutrition and health” and the food tastes healthy in the ways one wants it to.

Tezera Haile Michael was a songwriter and arranger, who’s songs were recorded by Bezunesh Bekele, Mahmoud Ahmed and Tilahoun Gessesse.

She captivates her audience with bewitching dance steps. In an interview with Afrik.com the young artist talks about her music, her culture and her beloved country, Ethiopia.

Ethiopian born and D.C based artist Wayna is off to a great start. Her first single off the album ‘My Love’ has received over 2500 downloads on #1 Soul Music website Soultracks.

Filmed, edited and directed by Temesgen Afework, Judgment Day is an apocalyptic drama filled with suspense, intrigue, and tragedy.

The following are our top ten favorite Ethiopian-American related events that we attended and/or featured in 2008. We wish all our readers “Happy Holidays!”

Along with Washington, D.C., Los Angeles, Seattle, Atlanta and Houston, the Bay Area has one of the largest Ethiopian populations in the United States.

Ethiopian film “Teza” scooped four main awards at Africa’s Carthage Film Festival recently, including the coveted Golden Tanit for its “modesty and genius.”

Source: Nazret.com – nazret.com is the most popular Ethiopian website for the year 2008, according to Alexa. nazret is the only Ethiopian web site that ranks in the top 60,000.

Tuesday was an evening of harmony at the world-famous Apollo theater in Harlem, where the African American and Jewish communities of New York paid homage to Israel’s 60 years of independence.

Here is our interview with Chris Flaherty, Producer and Director of Migration of Beauty. He speaks to us following our commentary about his film (Film Tackles Controversial 2005 Elections).

Although the film tackles one of the biggest domestic Ethiopian political events in recent memory, the Producer and Director is sensitive about using the word ‘politics’ in reference to his film.

An Ethiopian-Israeli play, based on a true story told from a perspective of a ten-year-old boy named Andargay, is making the rounds in the United States in conjunction with Israel’s 60th anniversary.

We ventured to Gansevoort Street, the heart of the Meatpacking District in Manhattan, to interview Marcus Samuelsson at Merkato 55, his new restaurant venture named after the market in Addis.

Right across from the Taco Bell on Telegraph Avenue, on the border of Berkeley and Oakland, California, sits an inconspicuous building that looks like a local greasy-spoon diner. Do not let the appearance of Addis Ethiopian Restaurant fool you.

Saturday night, the New York African Film Festival hosted an evening of Ethiopian films at Lincoln Center. The evening opened with Africa Unite, Stephanie Black’s new documentary.

The depiction of gender roles in Ethiollywood draws one’s attention to the discourse of womanhood in contemporary Ethiopian society. Read More.