Led by the Market: How the Market-oriented Ethiopian Infant Film ‘Industry’ Staggers to Stand on its Feet
How It All Began
We neither eat nor drink it, why would we pay for something we see with our own eyes?” was the question posed by many of the aristocrats of Emperor Menelik II, when asked to pay to watch the first ever film screened in Ethiopia at what later became to be known as “Saitan Bet” - the house of the devil. Others concluded “this is the work of the devil not humans” after watching it.Now, almost a century later, people wait in long queues at the gates of Cinemas to watch Ethiopian films, willing to pay their hard earned money, knowing that they are the works of their fellow countrymen.
Despite the fact that the inauguration of movie theaters in Ethiopia
is a century old, the history of filmmaking traces back to only forty
years ago, when the country provided the setting for the shooting of
‘Shaft in Africa’ for Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM) and other documentary
films by foreigners in the 1960s and early 1970s. In 1971 the first
Ethiopian-produced movie, Hirut Abatua Man New?, a 90 minute, black and
white 35mm film was made. A couple of years later, Gouma and Behiyiwot
Zuria were also produced locally. Many refer to this period as the
“golden age” of Ethiopian arts, as art in its several forms flourished
during this time.
Since then, the production and marketing of films in Ethiopia can be
said to have been in hibernation for a long period of time. The
inspiration burgeoned in the early 70s had been halted and slowed down
with the redirection of arts towards propaganda by the ruling military
junta. Though the Ethiopian Film Corporation, a center for an Ethiopian
film industry and co-productions equipped with substantial film and
editing devices, was established later in 1986, only one feature film,
‘Aster’, directed by Solomon Bekele, was produced.
The Revival
The last decade showed the resurgence of Ethiopian cinema. This
revival was heralded in the early 2000s when young filmmakers began to
produce films with the help of digital filmmaking technologies and
started showing them on big screens; the government’s ban on showing
films (for their supposed adverse effects on society) was lifted
unceremoniously during this time; Alem Cinema, the first privately owned
Cinema also started showing Ethiopian films on big screens side by side
with the government owned Cinemas.
| Rank | Country | Number of films produced per year |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | India | 1,091 |
| 2 | Nigeria | 872 |
| 3 | United States | 485 |
| 4 | Japan | 417 |
| 5 | China | 330 |
| Rank | Countries | Number of Cinemas |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | United States | 38,415 |
| 2 | China | 37,753 |
| 3 | India | 11,183 |
| 4 | France | 5,362 |
| 5 | Nigeria | 4,871 |
| Rank | Countries | Box Office Income in Billions USD (2012) |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | United States / Canada | 10.8 |
| 2 | China | 2.7 |
| 3 | Japan | 2.4 |
| 4 | UK | 1.7 |
| 5 | France | 1.7 |
“We don’t have a lot to talk about films as we have a lot of things
to talk about Ethiopia” says Tesfaye Mamo, President of Ethiopian
Filmmakers Association in an interview with EBR. “However, the
production of video films, intermingled and transformed to digital video
filmmaking and editing technologies, has shown a remarkable development
of production and commercialization in the last decade” he adds. Films
such as Kezkaza Wolafen by Tewodros Teshome, Yeberedo Zemen by Helen
Tadesse and Gudifecha by Tatek Kassa can be considered as pioneers of
the renaissance of Ethiopian film industry.
As digital technologies in filmmaking have made cinema accessible to
the emerging talent, numerous domestic film production companies have
increasingly targeted the big screen, to penetrate into the promising
market. Young Ethiopians who have acquired the skills through the
process locally and those educated in the West have produced films and
the reward for most of them has been encouraging.
Almost all of the film producers and directors EBR approached conclude that the film industry is a promising business.
The production and marketing of films is showing an unprecedented
growth recently. According to data from the Addis Ababa City
Administration Culture and Tourism Bureau, about 400 films have been
produced and granted permission to be screened in the past five years
alone.
There are many self-made filmmakers in Ethiopia, who without even
going to formal school succeed to produce some of the commercially
successful movies. Tewodros Teshome, who started making movies with the
skills he acquired while working in a photography studio, has already
made a big impact in the Ethiopian film industry. His movies Kezkaza
Wolafen, Fikir Siferd, Key Sihtet and now Sost Maezen have been popular
and market success. His courage to invest and reinvest huge capital into
filmmaking has earned him praise from industry observers; though some
have reservations about the roles he plays in some of his movies. “He
should be given the credit as a pioneer and should be appreciated for
his commitments and relentless investment” argues Tefaye.
Nevertheless, Tewodros considers himself a groundbreaker for opening
Ethiopia up to digital filmmaking. However, the director and producer
also has some regrets that he could have set a ‘higher standard’ of
filmmaking had he exerted extra effort in his movie Kezkaza Wolafen.
“People tend to use [the movie] as a template and much better films may
have been made had I set the bar higher” he told EBR.
A growing number of people are now investing in movie-making as it
has become a profitable business, Tewodros asserts. Back then, only a
few people used to be engaged in the sector. Many other filmmakers have
made some of the relatively good movies afterwards, such as “Semayawi
Feres”, by Serawit Fikre, a commercially successful movie whose theme
explores the Blue Nile and one man’s quest to harness its potential.
The Young Bloods
Young filmmakers have been exerting aggressive efforts in improving
the production quality of films made in the country and they have been
successful so far. Yonas Birhane Mewa is one example of these success
stories. Yonas, who began his filmmaking career with Yegizew Sewoch,
starring the now popular singer, Ejigayehu Shibabaw (Gigi) when he was a
teenager, later went to the United States to study filmmaking. “With
this tryout, I realized that making movies need enormous knowledge and
decided to study the science of filmmaking” says Yonas remembering the
time he started a career which made him one of the popular filmmakers
today.
Returning home after seven years of rigorous study and practical
training, at the San Francisco and Wayne State Universities in
California and Michigan, Yonas has produced 11 movies in the past ten
years. These include some of the market successes such as Hermela,
Yemoriam Midir, Baletaxiw and Mekaniku. His 12th feature film Bitania
will be released soon. “When we started making movies 10 years ago the
business was not on its feet, rather it followed the trend of theaters”
Yonas told EBR. “Since the theaters fee was ETB10, we used to charge the
same amount to show our movies; the process used to be a trial and
error exercise”.
Another young filmmaker Yidnekachew Shumete, who started filmmaking
while teaching videography at one of the training institutes in Addis
Ababa, has directed two of the commercially successful films. His films
Siryet and Nishan are recognized as ‘different’ from most of the films
produced and marketed in the country. “I want to put my philosophy and
thoughts in my movies rather than putting what the market wants” he
said. The acceptance both from the audiences and critics has been
remarkable” he added. His second movie Nishan was screened among the 16
movies selected from more than 1,000 movies submitted for the best
feature film selection at Festival Pan-African du Cinema de Ouagadougou
(FESPACO), the ‘African Oscar’. It has also been featured in several
film festivals in the US, Europe and Latin America as well.
Many of the filmmakers operating in the country at the moment are
young self-made producers, who learnt the techniques and business of
filmmaking on their own way.
The Business and the Money
Capital investment in feature filmmaking has grown from a few hundred
thousand birr a decade ago to more than a million now. The contribution
of inflation, like in any other sector is visible in the surge for
increased financial needs. Films such as Nishan and Mekaniku have cost
ETB700 and 750 thousand respectively. While, Sost Maezen, a film about
illegal migration by Tewodros Teshome which is on screens now, has been
said to cost in millions since it includes scenes in far remote desert
and on the sea. Some parts of the movie were also shot in Mexico and the
United States. According to Tewodros, some of the post production
activities –such as the sound and animation– were done in the United
States with the cost of USD85,000 (close to ETB1.7 million), though the
director declined to disclose the total cost of the movie.
“In Ethiopia we only have some of the most essential crew members and
technicians necessary in filmmaking” says one of the directors EBR
approached. Several responsibilities and activities are taken care of by
few individuals usually familiar with the producer. Some of the inputs
are also acquired through sponsorship and cooperation. For example, many
filmmakers use costumes received through sponsorships from tailors and
fashion designers rather than hiring a costume designer and paying for
expenses.
On the other hand, payment to actors and actresses as well as other
crew members and professionals has grown astoundingly. Ten years ago the
highest payment for lead acting roles used to be ETB3,000- 7,000. The
figure has now grown to more than tenfold. Prominent male actors
request from ETB75,000 - 120,000 to play in the lead acting roles in
feature films, while payment for lead female actresses has also reached
ETB70,000-100,000. A film director is paid from ETB60,000-70,000 on
average, whereas the fee for film scripts has grown to ETB40,000-50,000.
Makeup artists are also paid around ETB50,000.
International Recognition s
The first Ethiopian film to achieve international recognition was
directed by Haile Gerima, an independent filmmaker and professor of film
at Howard University, Washington DC, the United States. His movie Teza,
has won several acclamations including: best film award at FESPACO
which took the Stallion of Yenenga (named after the horse of the famous
warrior Queen of the Mossi of Burkina Faso) to East Africa for the first
time. It has also won the Special Jury and Best Screenplay awards at
the Venice Film Festival, (in the best screenplay category, Slumdog
Millionaire placed second and won the Best Film at the American Oscars
and became highly successful, while very few people who aren’t related
with films outside Ethiopia have heard of Teza), a Golden Taint for best
film at the Carthage film festival, and other several awards in
different film festivals.
One important feature of filmmaking is that many filmmakers also get
sponsorships to produce their movies. Several businesses, companies and
other institutions sponsor production; they pay a substantial amount of
money to promote their products and services in the movies, as well as
to inculcate their missions in the stories. Aida Ashenafi’s film Guzo
was the first Ethiopian movie to be shown on Ethiopian Airlines, the
airline provided a sponsorship grant of ETB250,000 for the production.
The Quality Problem
All this growth and recognition isn’t without faults. A lecturer at
Yoftahe Nigussie School of Theatrical Arts at Addis Ababa University
watches this development cautiously. Though the number of films
produced, and the money involved has increased substantially, the
quality of the films in respective to arts and cinematography seems
flat, he explained to EBR. “The qualities of sounds and pictures have in
fact improved thanks to the digital technology, but other artistic and
cinematographic elements as well as the themes and stories in movies
haven’t shown significant improvements” he argues refering some of the
movies he has watched.
Although a large number of youth in urban areas enjoy local films,
western films familiar moviegoers aren’t satisfied with the quality of
local films. Mekedes Nega, 31, is one of such movie lovers who thinks
life without movies [and music] would be unbearable. “I have seen
Hollywood movies from Gone with the Wind to Avatar” she claims when
approached by EBR while she was getting tickets at Mathi Cenema. (The
cinema, located inside Edna Mall around the booming Bole Medhanialem
Business District in Downtown Addis Ababa, is a privately-owned venue
that screens newly released Hollywood blockbusters and Ethiopian
movies.) “I have also seen many of the movies produced locally but I
have never been satisfied with any of them” she adds. She attributes her
dissatisfaction to the absence of professional elements in the movies,
mainly a plot. “They [Ethiopian movies] lack a lot of things you would
expect from a movie, mainly a story” she adds.
One reason why local movies have not satisfied the expectations of
moviegoers is due to their genres, which in recent years have become
more or less similar - comedy or romantic comedy. Another moviegoer,
Thomas Urgesa, is “sick and tired” of watching these similar genre
films. “The plots are very similar in several of the movies I have
watched” he reflects to EBR. “The themes of the films usually revolve
around the affluent and simple way of life with fun and comedy scenes in
the cities, particularly in Addis Ababa.” Thomas adds. “This is not the
only way of life in Ethiopia, if movies are supposed to show our
lives”.
In the initial years of filmmaking in Ethiopia, the genre of the
movies was focused on showing the dark side of life; portraying crime,
murder and corruption Yonas Berhane explains. These days most of the
movies produced and marketed locally are either comedy, or romantic
comedies. Filmmakers believe that such movies are what the market needs.
Despite the commercial success his films have achieved, Yonas isn’t
contented with the level of the film industry in the country. “Though
art is meant to show basic challenges and ways of life in the society,
our movies are mostly market-oriented and couldn’t do that” he says. “We
are just not doing art for the sake of art” he confesses.
Several of the stakeholders EBR has approached agree on one thing, in
a country where there is no formal education at a university level on
filmmaking, the growth of the industry has been encouraging, but
improvement is needed in all spheres. Some say with the absence of
critical filmgoers who watch most of the films on screen, improvement
may take time.
Yonas argues, in a country where the art of watching film is a new
phenomenon, the responsibility of producing quality movies solenly goes
to the filmmakers, the cinema houses and the government in producing and
screening better quality films.
Yidnekachew Shumete has made films that are not in the romantic
comedy genre, and yet has been successful. He argues that even though
the demand in the market dictates the success and failure of films
thematic and cinematographic qualities of movies can still win over the
taste of the audiences. Teza which has been a ground breaking in
bringing thought provoking stories and of course, the highest level of
cinematography is one good example of this, he asserts. An Amharic
movie has never been seen with that intensity, he says.
The Long Queue at the Cinema Halls
It is not only the movie goers who stand in a queue at the gates of
the cinema; filmmakers too have to get to the queues to get their films
screened for the public. In government-owned cinemas film producers wait
up to two years to get their turn, whereas in privately owned cinema
they have to pass the criteria set by the cinemas – to present a movie
that film goers would like or “laugh” at.
The
number of cinemas has grown parallel to the number of films produced in
the country, though it still can’t satisfy the high demand. There are
now 15 cinemas in Addis Ababa where movies are premiered in big screens.
These include three of the state owned cinemas; Ambassador Theater,
Cinema Ethiopia and Cinema Empire which have 1,447, 1,012 and 805 seats
respectively. There are also 12 privately owned cinemas with
accommodation capacities of more than 100 seats. The Addis Ababa City
Culture and Tourism Bureau give permission to screen movies to cinemas
that has a minimum of 100 seats.
Understanding this, many buildings in Addis Ababa are re-designing
their facilities to have cinemas. Many new buildings are also including
cinemas as part of their real estate business. Buildings that have
cinemas attract a large number of visitors per day, which contributes
well to tenants interest to acquire a place at a higher rate. The
opening of a new cinema at Getu Commercial Center on Africa Avenue and
dedication of a floor at the Zefmesh Building around Megenagna are good
examples.
Sebastopol Entertainment Plc, owned by Tewodros Teshome, is
constructing a six-storey multiplex in Arada District at a cost of ETB50
million. The multiplex will have 10 cinemas, five with 250 seats, two
with 400, the other two with 600 seats and the biggest one with 1,000
seats. The top two stories of the building will have a sound stage where
much of the resources needed to shoot movies will be available. The
earth work for construction has already started.
Edna Mall, which has Mathi Cinema around Bole Medhanealem, is also
planning to build a new cinema soon. Dembel and Ambassador real estates
have also plans to include cinemas in their buildings.
The future
Ethiopia’s rich and diverse culture, history, geography and
topography make the country favorable for filmmaking. “Government should
enact a policy for filmmaking by separating it from other sectors and
it can earn the country a substantial income and help in image-building”
urges Tesfaye Mamo, president of the Ethiopian Filmmakers Association.
He argues that a policy that encourages and supports co-production of
films with those who have vast knowledge and experience in the sector,
will help with technology and knowledge transfer.
Filmmaking and screening has come a long way through the commitments
and efforts of individuals. Now, policy-makers should work towards
institutionalizing and enhancing its development to the next
professional level. Creating connection and opening up the sector for
more advanced and experienced foreign filmmaking companies will help
achieve this.
Some countries joined the movie industry very recently and have
registered a remarkable achievement, Nigeria being a good case in point.
The Nigerian Film Industry hit a turning point when Living in Bondage
hit the market in 1992, and when the government set up a favorable
atmosphere for filmmaking. Government and institutions need to support
the production of Cinematic Arts, which will help in applying the
principles of the discipline. As it stands, the movie making ‘industry’
is inclined to satisfy the taste of the audience. That is why the genre
of most films is either comedy or romantic comedies, which are genres
the audience enjoys more.
Producers, directors, cinemas and others involved in the sector
should sacrifice to help the ‘industry’ grow a step ahead rather than
focusing on money-making motives and disregarding the development of the
art. The ‘industry’ should evolve to higher standards of
professionalism at all aspects. Otherwise, film goers may not label the
films as the “works of devil”, but may refuse to pay as aristocrats of
Menelik II did a century ago.
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