“Teza” awarded top African film prize
The Ethiopian film “Teza” directed by Haile Gerima received yesterday the Golden Stallion of Yennenga of the FESPACO (Pan-African Cinema and Television Festival of Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso), the main film prize of the largest festival on the African continent. The European Commissioner for Development, Louis Michel, applauded the decision of awarding a film co-financed by the European Commission with over € 56,000 of the total estimated cost of € 400,000. “This film’s success is a timely reminder of just how essential art and culture are for the development process for Africa”, declared.
The film tells the story of an Ethiopian intellectual who flees his country in the 80’s. After his return as a Western trained doctor he is quickly confronted with the brutal reality of life under the repressive Marxist regime of Mengistu Haile Mariam.