Feature film
Who Is Hirut's Father?
Hirut abatwa mannew ?
Lambros Yokaris · 1965
Synopsis
In Nazareth, Hirut falls in love with Gugsa, an azmari, a popular singer and musician, and from their union a daughter, Abeba, is born. Soon separated from Gugsa, Hirut leaves with the child for Addis Ababa, then for Asmara. A single mother, she faces the contempt of those around her, while the little girl keeps running up against the same question: who is her father?
Context
Shot in black and white from a book published in 1964, and produced by the company of Elala Ibsa, who wrote its screenplay, the film was released in August 1965 at the Haile Selassie I Theatre in Addis Ababa, with Abebech Ejigu in the role of Hirut. Paulos Aemero and Aboneh Ashagrie, then Eyerusaleam Kassahun and Steven W. Thomas, give it this pioneering rank, on the strength of testimony from its producer. Since digitised, it was shown again at the festival of classic Ethiopian films in Addis Ababa in 2019 and in London in 2022.
Who it is for
For discovering the very beginnings of Ethiopian fiction cinema, through the fate of a woman rejected by her own people.
Prizes and reception
A study published in 2023 also sees in it the very first fiction film shot in Amharic.
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