07 Nov IEFTA Sponsors Two Ethiopian Producers at Great Lakes Creative Producers Lab
This week the Great Lakes Creative Producers Lab is taking place in Nairobi and IEFTA have sponsored the attendance of two Ethiopian Producers, Dirbdil Assefa and Leul Shoaferaw, to attend the lab, spotlighting the current projects that they are working on.
It is the first time that the lab will welcome an Ethiopian delegation, and IEFTA are proud and excited about this new collaboration and to be able to contribute in showcasing curated talent from around the world.
Producers and their Projects
Dirbdil Assefa (Ethiopia)
PRODUCER
Dirbdil Assefa is a producer and director based in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. His short documentary, “Which Direction to Go” was premiered at the Winterthur International Film Festival in 2011 and was also in competition at the Hot Docs International Film Festival in 2012. In 2013, he attended the 63rd Berlinale and took part in the post-production master class. Dirbdil has also gained considerable experience by participating in various internationally award-winning films, including “Horizon Beautiful” and “The Ethiopian”. In 2014, he directed his first narrative feature film, “Enena Bete” which was released locally. Dirbdil Assefa. is currently developing his first feature documentary, “Children of Arfan Qallo, Wake Up!”, a project that secured development funding from DW Akademie. This project was also in the Doc Toolbox Program and EFM on the 72nd edition of Berlinale. He co-owns Rusty Twon Films, a production company based in Addis Ababa.
Project title:
Children of Afran Qallo, Wake Up! (Documentary)
ETHIOPIA
Synopsis: The film explores the Oromo musical movement in Ethiopia, a symbol of resistance in the 1960s that continues to the present day. It is an observational documentary that primarily follows Abedlle Ibrahim from Australia, and Kalifa from Ethiopia, two young people engaged in different but complementary quests, as they lead us on a multigenerational journey. Born in the birthplace of the first ever modern Oromo band, Abedlle (38) moved to Australia at a young age, growing up seeing his close family and relatives listen to Afran Qallo’s early songs with longing, nostalgia, joy, and sadness. This sparks a curiosity about the history of the band, and stimulates a personal goal to regroup the exiled members for one final performance in front of their beloved fans after 50 years. The film is a multi-layered exploration of what identity means to different generations and how it transforms over time, and it looks at the emotional quest for an identity for our main characters, which will serve as a central narrative arc, driving the film.
Leul Shoaferaw (Ethiopia)
PRODUCER
As a filmmaker, music manager, and event curator, Leul Shoaferaw is a broadly based cultural producer. His short film “Plumes Blanches”, which premiered at FESPACO (Festival Panafricain du Cinéma de Ouagadougou) in 2019, marked his first professional step in the film industry. This gave Leul access to many other international festivals, such as the New York African Film Festival (NYAFF), and the Durban International Film Festival (DIFF). “Plumes Blanches” was awarded as the best film on African Cultural Issues at the Lake International Pan African Film Festival (LIPFF) in Kenya. Leul was a scriptwriter on “Yegna: The Story of All of Us”, a musical television series dealing with women’s empowerment and other social issues. In order to promote emerging talents, support their projects, and create networks with other artists, Leul Shoaferaw Co-founded WAG Entertainment. In 2023, he was officially appointed as INPUT’s (International Public Television Screening Conference) National Coordinator for Ethiopia. Leul is a fellow of the DW Akademie Film Development Fund, The Festival Academy, and the Great Lakes Creative Producers Lab.
Project title:
Sparkling (Fiction)
ETHIOPIA
Synopsis:A newly married young couple, Sara and Biruk are visited by an old college friend for an impromptu dinner. As the evening unfolds the college friend, Nati, stumbles on a secret only he and the wife are in on. All hell breaks loose in the new fragile home built on lies, denials, and pretense as Nati tries to avoid being a destructive catalyst for a relationship that’s already on the brink.
About Great Lakes Creative Producers Lab
Great Lakes Creative Producers Lab is a project development lab to bring together creative producers from East and West Africa. This program is meant to address some of the challenges that exist in the film ecosystem across Africa where the role of a creative producer is not always well understood. Their mission and goal is to increase the number of creative producers in Africa, equip producers with the required resources and tools, to strengthen their skills in the film development stage in order to create greater opportunities and access to the global markets.
To find out more, visit the Great Lakes Creative Producers Lab website.