Screening Times
Friday, February 5th 2010, 7:00pm, Hollywood Theatre Opening Night with Film Director Haile Gerima. Sponsored by Afrique Bistro Pan-African Dining, Queen of Sheba International Foods, and the Gessesse Family and Friends
All films are free and open to the public on a first-come, first-served basis.
TEZA
Directed by Haile Gerima
Ethiopia, Germany, 2008, 140 min.
It is a great honor to open the 20th anniversary of our festival with Haile Gerima and his latest award-winning film, Teza. The film tells the moving story of an idealistic young Ethiopian doctor, Anberber, who upon returning home after medical training in Germany finds the country in the grips of the brutal regime of Mengistu Haile Mariam. Seeking solace from the center of violence, Anberber flees to the countryside village of his childhood but finds no shelter there either. Unable to find the land of liberty and progress for which he dreamed while away, he is forced to come to terms with his own displacement and powerlessness as he witnesses the dissolution of humanity and social values in his homeland. Winner of the Grand Prize at FESPACO 2009 in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso, Africa’s largest and longest-running Pan-African film festival. In Amharic, German and English with English subtitles.
[...] NE Sandy Blvd, Portland OR. I specially mention this date, since the Festival will be opening with the only Ethiopian film of this year, Teza, and the director of the film, Haile Gerima will be also present in the theater. [...]
Haile Gerima is a fantastic film maker. This film was so well done and the story line was even better! I can only hope the President finds out about this film and shows it in the White House. President Obama and Mr. Gerima need to meet and discuss. I can only imagine the conversations between the two (as well as White House staff) leading to more positive things.
Mr. Gerima is definitely an anointed person with a true gift from GOD. The discussion afterward was also revealing. He was able to express the process of his thinking and how the film was made. Please have him back again!!!
This is one of those films that you’ll never forget, one of the 5 best films I’ve ever seen. Weaving together dream with reality, the excellent use of flashbacks to enrich understanding, fully developed and believable characters, beautiful cinematography and seamless editing – this film has it all. I stand in awe of this monumental director, Haile Gerima.