“Half a Man” premiers on Monday

By Alemayehu Seife-Selassie

A new Ethiopian film Gimash Sew (Half a Man) will have its first public premiere at the National Theatre in Addis Ababa on Monday. A tragic film made by Yonas Birhane Mewa, 'Half a Man' is 105 minutes long and features both famous and new actors playing in it. Artistes Shimeles Bekele, Getachew Sileshi, Makida Haile, Alebachew Mekonen and the Misonegaya singer Saron Teferi are among the leading actors.

Daniel Geleta is the writer and producer of the film. This is the first script to be turned into a film by Daniel Geleta. Over 450,000 birr went into the production of 'Half a Man" in which 120 actors are taking part. The film is produced under Emawos Film Production. The production company has been engaged in producing documentary films and TV commercials. However, this is its first feature length production.

It has taken the filmmakers a year and two months to finalize the pre-production and editing. The production manager of Emawos, Abiy Abebe, told The Reporter this week that the film is based on a true story but the writer has used his creativity to ornament it. The story of "Half a Man" revolves around two friends who are both shareholders of a company. But as one of the partners got too greedy, he tries to get away from paying his dues to his partner. The corrupt partner then tries to use illegal means to shun his friend. To make matters worse, he even molests the daughter of his friend. Driven by revenge, the betrayed partner goes to attack his former friend. But he ends up getting hurt himself.

Among the challenges the makers faced while producing the film, the finding of locations was one. “Some filmmakers who have partnered with a few hotels and venue owners have not paid their due respect. They have not promoted the venues, or have not even granted them with honoring certificates. Hence we were faced with a lot of challenges when we looked for venues to make this film,” the Abiy explained,

Source: The Ethiopian Reporter