Ethiopian Films News

Ethiopian International Film Festival 2009 "Lost and Found"

 

World Cinema coming to Ethiopia

The 4th Ethiopian International Film Festival (EIFF) festival - by the theme LOST AND FOUND - will be held from 23-29 November 2009 at National Theatre, Addis Ababa City Hall, Italian Culture Institute and Imperial Hotel under the theme LOST AND FOUND

Why LOST AND FOUND?

Most of us see "LOST AND FOUND" in different places where lost properties offices are located. These properties have only material value. How about lost cultural, spiritual, social values, or forgotten events or personages? This theme will take us back to the past human values and events lost somewhere and sometime. How and where did we discover our identity which made us human? What are the events and people who made us what we are?

The festival will screen films which show how lost values can be rediscovered, remembered and preserved. Activities (workshops, seminars...) throughout the week, in one way or another will raise and touch the theme as an issue.

Also the festival calls for participants to have a particular lost or forgotten cultural value, event, personage etc to present as an issue for the festival to consider.

Remember what the renowned Ethiopian filmmaker Haile Gerima once said "without the past there is no forward movement, so somehow we have to make peace with, and have an understanding of our past. We cannot go physically back to the past. But we have to look into the past to find out why we have come to where we are now".

This year the 4th EIFF will continue the momentum that has been achieved by previous festivals and expected thousands of people coming to see films from all over the world (including Ethiopia) to be performed at all venues.

The festival program will be divided into four primary sections:

African Panorama - A broad selection of historic and contemporary African films that provide a good context for understanding African cinema.

The Contemporary World Cinema - Showing work from many different countries and cultures

Cinema Landmarks - A selection of film will be chosen with particular relevance to the festival's theme & related programs.

Highlights and Tributes - Which creates programs for this theme and honors particular individuals for their contributions.

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