Movies & TV Shows from Ethiopia

CIA agents Palmer and Gagano are tasked with the perilous mission of destroying “The Soviet Union!" As they enter the system using a VR simulation, their mission quickly turns into a delirious trap, far more complex than expected, as the fabric of reality starts unraveling around them.

A spiritual journey into the highlands of Harar, immersed in the rituals of khat, a leaf Sufi Muslims chewed for centuries for religious meditations – and Ethiopia’s most lucrative cash crop today. A tapestry of intimate stories offers a window into the dreams of youth under a repressive regime.

The Ethiopian intellectual Anberber returns to his native country during the repressive totalitarian regime of Haile Mariam Mengistu and the recognition of his own displacement and powerlessness at the dissolution of his people's humanity and social values. After several years spent studying medicine in Germany, he finds the country of his youth replaced by turmoil. His dream of using his craft to improve the health of Ethiopians is squashed by a military junta that uses scientists for its own political ends. Seeking the comfort of his countryside home, Anberber finds no refuge from violence. The solace that the memories of his youth provide is quickly replaced by the competing forces of military and rebelling factions. Anberber needs to decide whether he wants to bear the strain or piece together a life from the fragments that lie around him.

Made in Ethiopia examines China’s increasing impact on Africa through the story of charismatic businesswoman Motto, who is tasked with expanding the biggest Chinese industrial zone in Ethiopia.

Kaleab and Jemal are two who are willing to endure any travail to reach America and what they deem as a promise of a better life, but is it? Along the way Kaleab meets Winta, who is from neighboring Eritrea and on a similar journey as Kaleab. Kaleab and Winta fall in love with each other as the group of Ethiopians and Eritreans travel an arduous and illegal path from East Africa through Libya, Italy, Mexico and finally to America, but their love for each other is tested thoroughly as the group meets up with violence, sickness and, ultimately, tragedy.

Jonathan Dimbleby’s landmark 1973 documentary “The Unknown Famine” stands as a pivotal moment in Ethiopian history—a journalistic endeavour that not only exposed a humanitarian crisis but inadvertently helped precipitate the end of Africa’s oldest monarchy. The footage was broadcast by ITV for its flagship affairs series named "This Week".

In contemporary Ethiopia, a farming community's exodus is disrupted when the patriarch of a prominent family disappears from his grave. Tessema, his son, begins to question the church's divine explanation, forcing him to launch his own investigation.

For over 35 years Yussuf Mume Saleh journeys at night to the outskirts of the walled city of Harar to bond with his beloved hyenas.

A documentary film about sister-ancestors, speech acts and resistance, populated by women who write and re-write history and culture in Ethiopia.

Three hours outside of Addis Ababa, a bright 14-year-old girl is on her way home from school when men on horses swoop in and kidnap her. The brave Hirut grabs a rifle and tries to escape, but ends up shooting her would-be husband. In her village the practice of abduction into marriage is common and one of Ethiopia’s oldest traditions. Meaza Ashenafi, an empowered and tenacious young lawyer, arrives from the city to represent Hirut and argue that she acted in self defense. Meaza boldly embarks on a collision course between enforcing civil authority and abiding by customary law, risking the ongoing work of her women’s legal aid practice to save Hirut’s life.

This emotional doc explores Dr. Alganesh Fessaha's mission to breed hope and bright futures for young lives displaced by the Ethiopian-Eritrean Conflict.

Afilm by Yeabsira Docho

"This film depicts modern American products and U.S. economic development through the U.S. national exhibit at the 1966 trade fair in Addis Ababa, Ehtiopia, which was attended by 360,000 Africans (including children from the Haile Selassie I Day School, who toured the exhibition as part of a classroom assignment)" (US National Archives). Directed by renowned cinematographer, Stevan Larner.

A sequel to the most successful Ethiopian film of all-time, Theodros Teshome's Kezkaza Welafen (2003). Starring Teshome himself as Ali, a cop trying to catch a serial rapist-killer, whilst in a long-term relationship with Joanna (Martha Adugna). Like the first movie, Fiker Siferd deals with a kind of horrifying, anxiety-ridding issue facing modern Ethiopians: violence against women.

Set in the Sidist Kilo campus of Addis Ababa University, Kezkaza Welafen directly addresses the social tensions of everyday life for Ethiopian university students with the dangers of HIV/AIDS as its central theme. It follows the story of the female protagonist Selam, a promising university student and advocate for the prevention of HIV/AIDS who secretly believes she too is living with the disease.

Duka, a young unmarried Hamar girl learns what awaits her in life from the older women of her tribe. Their often humorous conversations range from teenage pregnancy and growing old to relationships with men. Although the men are dominant, the women are not servile and on occasion will mock the posturing of the men. The women's high spirits are revealed during the harvest celebrations and the blessing ceremony for a new baby. Young women avoid the watchful eyes of their elders as they flirt and dance.

A Film By Samuel Teshager /Ye Emaye Lij/

In the quiet villa, a girl cares for her ailing father, a man confronting the weight of his past as his body fails him. As their days blur between duty, resentment, and fleeting tenderness, Albatross unravels a delicate battle between a daughter’s sacrifice and a father’s regrets, asking when is it time to let go?

The dramatic untold story of 420,000 Cubans– soldiers and teachers, doctors and nurses– who gave everything to end colonial rule and apartheid in Southern Africa.

1950’s local shop owner, Yemeni citizen Melike has been forced to leave Dessie. His love afire with the local chiefs daughter, become the Couse for his death. On the last moment, his young helper Tame ru has acquired a watch from the dead body. After decades Tameru learns the watch might worth a lot of money and had been in search for years. The old-fashioned Tameru refused to exchange or to give up his childhood memory. But this mild-manner will ruin his and his family peaceful life. Tamerus only son Yosef makes a desperate verdict in order to get pure justice, for what he couldn’t get legally. [filmoch]

Sew Le Sew