ADERA
South African producer Pascal Schmitz brings his latest film Adera in high quality HD Blu-Ray to Ethiopia,for premiere at the Sepastopol cinema on the 11th of May 2009.
Adera is a heart wrenching story of an Ethiopian refugee's struggle to survive in the city of Johannesburg – it is a story of, love, hope, deception and the human will to survive.
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The film captures the unusual subject of surrogate motherhood among Ethiopians and the life of Ethiopian refugees living abroad in South Africa, raising questions about old traditions and how they affect the lives of modern Ethiopians. It stars Alemayehu Kifle, Rahel Ashenafi, Tigist Kidane, Zelalem Mekonnen and was directed by first time director Nega Tariku, whose passion for film took him to South Africa 10 years ago were he starting working on Adera 4 years ago with screen writer Alemayehu Kifle.
Adera is Pascal Schmitz’ first Ethiopian film produced in Amharic with both Ethiopian and South African actors and was shot and finished entirely on location in South Africa. Adera is also the first South African produced film ever to be finished on Blu-Ray, a next-generation optical disc, for cinema release and also a first in Africa. “It is a privilege to share this cutting edge technology with the audience in Addis Ababa, offering an unprecedented HD experience”, promises producer Pascal Schmitz.
As new leader in HD Entertainment, Blu-Ray uses blue-violet laser, making it possible to focus the laser spot with even greater precision and packing more data in less space. The Blu-Ray disc format has the support from all Hollywood studios as a successor to the current optical disc technologies such as DVD, which rely on a red laser.
It offers five times the storage capacity of traditional DVDs: a single-layer Blu-Ray disc will hold up to 25 gigabytes of data and a double-layer Blu-Ray disc 50 gigabytes of data.
Pascal Schmitz has just finished two weeks filming in Ethiopia on a documentary about Rastafarians for South Africa Television and is no stranger to the country, as he lived here 9 years ago, married an Ethiopian and is fluent in Amharic.
In support of the Ethiopian Film Initiative (EFI) Pascal Schmitz is sharing his knowledge of HD filmmaking with Ethiopian filmmakers during his visit to Ethiopia by giving a three day film workshop on HD and filmmaking at Addis Ababa University from the 6th till the 8th of May.
ADERA releases in Ethiopia on Blu-Ray 11 May 2009.
ADERA is showing at the Sepastopol cinema.
For media inquiries, contact:
Pascal Schmitz on telephone +25 911 087381, email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
EFI (Ethiopian Film Initiative) please email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
www.AMARIAM.co.za
and
www.ethiopianfilminitative.org
SYNOPSIS
ADERA
“What is the true cost of our dreams? “
Adera is the heart wrenching story of an Ethiopian refugee's struggle to survive in the city of Johannesburg. Life in South Africa is dangerous and earning money is difficult. She quickly discovers that Johannesburg is not the promised city of gold.
Marlam struggles to provide for her two children back home and through a series of twisted circumstances ends up as a surrogate mother for a wealthy Ethiopian couple, Tiru and Fre. Their fate is tied to that of Biru’s, the shady middle man who is only interested in the money.
As this unique African story unfolds, the true cost of dreams is revealed and each life is changed forever. Adera is a story of, love, hope, deception and the human will to survive.
Adera raises questions about old traditions and how they affect the lives of modern Ethiopians. One of the critical issues Adera confronts is adoption in Ethiopia. The culture in Ethiopia, as in most of Africa, is not to adopt children. With so many orphans left behind and the numbers always growing, it is high time to take fresh look at these conventions.
Director
Nega Tariku grew up in the suburb of Menelek, Addis Ababa.
In 1995 he got involved in the theatre in central Addis Ababa, working on several popular local plays, but there was no film industry to speak of even in the capital city.
In 1998 he made the move to South Africa, in hope of a better life in the Arts and film industry there. He formed a theatre production group called “Candlelight Productions” with other Ethiopian actors and wrote and directed many Ethiopian theatre productions for the local community. This is his debut film as a director.
Cast
Tigist Kidane and Zelalem Mekonnen will be known from their previous roles in a South African production titled “Agape”. Alemayehu Kifle is well known in the theatre circuit in Ethiopia and in his first film role pulled off the best performance according to the audience feedback. Rahel Ashenafi his wife plays a convincing role beside him and both were well received by audiences both in South Africa and Ethiopia.