ASNI

Asni Courage, Glamour & Passion in Ethiopia - a film about Asnaketch Worku ''Ethiopia's Edith Piaf'', an Ethiopian singer, actor and dancer. 

Rachael Samuel's documentary focuses on the life of the jazz diva, chronicling her rise to stardom and her legacy on the Ethiopian music scene.

Asnaketch was deemed very controversial in the  deeply conservative Ethiopia of the 1950s and 60s.

“When I was a 4-year old kid in Addis-Ababa listening to my father’s radio I heard a singer who mesmerized me. In an unknowing visceral response, Asnaketch Worku took root in my soul. Decades later it was an almost pre-destined privilege to direct a documentary on this extraordinary artist who is as much a cultural icon to Ethiopians as Billie Holiday is to Americans and Edith Piaf to the French. Asnaketch lived her life on the edge of her artistry, over the edge of her passions. But to separate Asnaketch from the social and political climate of conservative Ethiopia, particularly in 50’s and 60’s was impossible. Artists in that time were looked down upon, called derogatorily, “Azmari”, which the church deemed as, “…those not going to heaven.” So this doc is as much about my country, my music, my culture as it is about this original being, Asnaketch, who is a substantive part of the fabric of Ethiopia, past and present.” –Rachel Samuel, Director

Ethiopia. 2013. 80min. Colour. Amharic with English subtitles.

Review

TADIAS  "New Film by Rachel Samuel Profiles Legendary Musician Asnaketch Worku"