Beyond Romance-Comedy
Ethiopia’s Film Industry Explores New Frontiers
Ethiopia’s film industry is at a crossroads. While rich in cultural potential, it grapples with funding, infrastructure, and audience preferences. Recent ventures into genres like horror and thriller signal a promising shift, but the dominance of romance-comedies persists. The industry seeks to balance commercial success with artistic expression, navigating challenges like production costs and audience expectations.
The emergence of several streaming platforms offers new opportunities, but government support remains crucial. As Ethiopia’s film scene evolves, finding the right mix of cultural heritage, market demands, and innovative storytelling will be critical to its success.
Indeed, Ethiopia’s film industry is undergoing a transformative shift, with a burgeoning appetite for genres beyond the traditional romance comedies. While this evolution presents exciting opportunities for storytelling and audience engagement, it also introduces new challenges and risks. EBR’s Mintesnot Nigussie delves into the potential impact of these dynamic genres on the industry and its cultural landscape, exploring the opportunities for growth and the hurdles to overcome to realise this cinematic renaissance fully.
Ethiopia’s film industry is a goldmine of potential for preserving and promoting its rich cultural tapestry and historical legacy. Indeed, with numerous ethnic groups, each with unique customs, languages, and traditions, Ethiopia offers a vast reservoir of cultural content for filmmakers to explore. Documentaries, feature films, and short films can capture the essence of these cultures, ensuring their preservation for future generations.
Ethiopia also boasts a long and complex history. Films can delve into significant historical events, figures, and periods, offering fresh perspectives and engaging audiences with the nation’s past. By showcasing the country’s cultural and historical attractions through film, the industry can contribute to tourism growth. Films can serve as powerful marketing tools, enticing viewers to experience the real Ethiopia.
A developed film helps promote national pride and social cohesion and builds national aspirations. However, Ethiopian filmmakers need to budget more to achieve this goal. The lack of adequate funding, equipment, and skilled professionals hinders production quality. Reaching a broad audience has also been difficult due to limited cinema infrastructure and piracy. Despite these constraints, the industry shows a profound promise with diverse genres like horror, action, and thrillers, attracting local audiences and signalling a positive shift in Ethiopian cinema.
While many advocate that films promote these cultural artifacts of broad Ethiopian society, the market seems unreliable. As a result, filmmakers have tried to choose alternative storylines that reflect society’s longstanding values and contribute to the industry’s growth by introducing new genres and production techniques.
Ethiopian cinema introduced “Sryet” a decade ago, directed by Yidnekachew Shumete. Sryet means expiation, the act of making amends or reparation for guilt or wrongdoing; atonement. This crime thriller focused on a disfigured serial killer targeting the families of six men, marking a significant foray into less-explored genres. “Sryet” revealed a budding interest in unconventional genres. Following this, “Tefetari,” directed by Biruk Getachew, was released in 2020. This film blends action, suspense, and drama, centring on mysterious events and character development. Despite these innovations, the market remained stagnant in exploring uncommon genres after these films because COVID-19 severely affected the entire show business.
This period was when films like “Sidist Sat Ke Lelitu”, a recent Ethiopian thriller directed by Behailu Engida, came into play. Combining intense horror elements with captivating night scenes, filmmakers have recently diverged from traditional Ethiopian cinema to a new frontier. It highlights the industry’s growing interest in diverse storytelling. Despite its engaging plot, adopting such genres in Ethiopian cinema is relatively recent.
“Even those with sufficient budgets often fall short in various aspects,” Behailu told EBR. Behailu explains why the Ethiopian film industry needs to catch up. He attributes the lack of linkages with the international film industry as one factor contributing to the sector’s underdevelopment. He argues that our filmmakers still need to get the chance to network and share experiences with neighbouring East African peers. As a nascent industry, collaboration with other nations and further investment helps the sector to thrive.
For several years, the romance-comedy genre has represented most Ethiopian cinemas. Many attribute this to an unofficial study identifying that the Ethiopian audience, mainly in urban areas, likes such genre more than the rest. While the study’s shortcomings remain obvious for industry insiders, such films have enjoyed considerable fan among teenagers and adolescents. Behailu explains the origin of the trend to the success of “Yewendoch Guday,” literally translated as “Men’s affairs”, a romance comedy, as a push factor for Ethiopian filmmakers to produce more and more comedy films. He notes that these types of films have been popular in cinema. However, he argues that it’s time to explore different genres because the experience could also boost interest among the audience for local films.
Nebiyou Indris, an actor involved in thriller films, highlights a key issue: Ethiopian cinema’s reliance on conventional genres is often due to the lack of discipline among some producers and directors. He argues that many prioritise profit over creative disruptions. To foster progress, he advocates for supporting creative filmmakers dedicated to advancing the industry and producing films committed to setting new trends.
While the effort by filmmakers is still essential to see the industry’s ascent, others know the importance of government support. Ras Yalew, the writer of the film “Janamora,” contends with this idea. He argues that Ethiopian films will achieve international success only when produced with profound government support. “The romance and comedy genres were initially well-received, prompting most filmmakers to focus on these genres until recently,” he says. However, the audience has started to lose interest and move away from the market because they are eager to see what international cinemas present.
Although the film industry requires substantial effort from producers, filmmakers, directors, cinematographers, and artists, these efforts can only seem worthwhile if the audience is sufficiently receptive and appreciative of the creativity.
“Ethiopian viewers often criticise local films without supporting them,” says Tsion Tamrat, an Ethiopian film enthusiast. She compares this to how singers draw audiences to concerts. She suggests that filmmakers should do the same to garner viewership for their works as singers do in concerts and theatre hall performances. However, many avoid cinemas because of the convenience of YouTube or local rentals.
Reflecting on how the integration of uncommon genres has influenced her, Tsion notes, “The rise of thriller and action genres has introduced some impressive locations in films, which I have enjoyed and which have led me to reassess my previous views.”
Behailu crafts these films from his inspirations. He usually says that he doesn’t respond to market gaps. “I thought about the story while my two friends were discussing an odd worship experience,” he said. He believes that success in filmmaking stems from pursuing projects born out of passion. “I believe such movies will open doors for filmmakers with unconventional scripts who previously doubted audience acceptance,” said Behailu.
Ras Yalew believes the audience deserves more than just the same film genres and should dare try unconventional genres. “I often receive messages saying, ‘It’s been a long time since I watched an Ethiopian film, but you’ve made me want to see one,’” said Ras Yalew. This feedback underscores the gap between what filmmakers produce and the audience’s desires. Previously, cinemas did not attract many viewers, but these new genres now attract audiences.
“Personally, as the audience elevates my position, it motivates me to aim for higher quality in my filmmaking, surpassing my previous achievements,” he added.
Moving to the horror genre allows artists to expand their skills and engage new audiences through versatility and creativity.
Nebiyou highlighted the significance of working in such genres. “I prefer films I enjoy watching, particularly crime fiction, detective stories, murder mysteries, mystery novels, and police novels. This attraction motivates my participation in such genres,” he said. Such narratives centre on criminal acts, especially on investigation, either by an amateur or a professional detective. They could also focus on a crime, often a murder.
However, producing films in new genres poses challenges. Rising costs strain profitability [and even risk loss], while independent filmmakers need help securing funding to finance such films.
“After investing heavily [in a futile exercise], the cinema abandoned the horror genre because of the overwhelming dominance of romantic comedies,” Behailu said.
He noted an additional challenge – the film’s timeline, with many night scenes, spanned morning to midnight. They filmed during the day and adjusted footage to simulate night. This genre demands dedication, risk-taking, and endurance. Filming in harsh weather required multiple takes, leading to exhaustion. More advanced equipment is needed to capture intense action scenes. The process pushes actors to their limits, taking time for their appearance to return to normal.
The production demands of action/thriller and romantic comedy genres starkly differ. Yet, audience appreciation and financial gain motivate filmmakers.
“Romance comedies don’t require travelling for unique locations,” Ras Yalew notes. Action/thrillers often explore unfamiliar places, adding complexity to the production. Integrating advanced tech also poses challenges [financially and due to the cumbersome access process]. However, unexpected audience feedback and financial rewards make the outcome fulfilling.
“The production of horror, crime, and action films poses physical challenges and demands tremendous efforts, perhaps explaining their underexploration of the genre,” Nebyou said. “Yet, the demanding production process cultivates artists [to their next big film].”
As the industry evolves, there are concerns about how new genres might impact Ethiopia’s diverse cultural values.
Behailu addresses concerns, “horror films avoid slashes or body horror. It addresses harmful cultural practices from an Ethiopian perspective, reflecting many people’s lives.”
While the lack of know-how, technical expertise, and resources has emerged as a calamitous challenge for the industry’s growth, the emergence of highly funded foreign broadcasting television stations operating in the country with local languages and production has made the challenges of the Ethiopian film industry reach a new peak. Indeed, it’s crucial to examine how broadcasting platforms such as DSTV and Canal+ influence the film sector. By increasing accessibility and supporting local content, they enhance visibility and create new revenue opportunities.
“The industry lacked investment, but platforms are crucial for high-quality films,” Behailu said. “The emergence of these platforms has boosted stability, attracting more investment in the sector, which has contributed to the proliferation of Hollywood-standard movies in Ethiopia.”
Behailu ads that the latest launch of the TeleTV app, a groundbreaking entertainment platform developed by EagleLion system technology and ethiotelecom, offers a rich collection of Movies, TV series, TV shows, and exclusive interviews. With a user-friendly interface and personalised recommendations to enhance the viewing experience for subscribers, TeleTV has further revolutionised entertainment in Ethiopia. TeleTV’s fast downloads, spanning over 50,000 within two weeks after its release, show its revolutionising potential. This transformative innovation has led Behailu to cancel his film’s tour.
“Film is costly, but TeleTV offers a better platform than YouTube, allowing paid access and a global stage,” Behailu said. “The industry could become a major economic force, like coffee and hides, with the potential to generate revenues from overseas in foreign currency.”
Indeed, a vibrant film industry could enrich culture and economy. Incorporating unconventional genres and high-quality production can attract investors and diversify entertainment. Platforms like DSTV (Digital Satellite Television, abbreviated DStv, is a Sub-Saharan African direct broadcast satellite service owned by MultiChoice and based and with headquarters in Randburg, South Africa. The channel, launched on October 6, 1995, has a strong presence in the continent); Canal+ (also spelt Canal Plus and sometimes abbreviated C+ or Canal, is a French premium television channel owned by the Groupe Canal+. The channel, launched in November 1984, broadcasts mainly to Metropolitan France; while recent initiatives took it to a global platform), TeleTV is also crucial, broadening local films’ reach and boosting revenue, potentially increasing foreign currency and creating new investment/tourism opportunities.
12th Year • July 2024 • No. 131