by Tibebeselassie Tigabu.

Looking at the ruggedly plastered film posters on top of one another on the different walls in several places in Addis Ababa, one can guess the large number of films that are produced every week.

When one looks closely at the posters or the brochures of these films, there seems to be a common trend, especially nowadays where there is one all-rounder behind the film, encompassing multiple roles starting from directing, producing, scriptwriting and acting, all titles going under the name of one person.

Even if the ‘modern day’ Ethiopian filmmaking dates back a couple of decades, for a lot of filmmakers and viewers it is still in its initial stages. The movement is still facing difficulties, including lack of schools and lack of qualified expertise while the question of financiers is still discussed among the filmmakers.

Read the rest of this article from the EthiopianReporter.

Sign up now for your own FREE monthly subscription to “The Director’s Chair” filmmaking ezine and get the first 28 pages of my 210 page Film Directing Multi-Media Online course, “The Art and Craft of the Director Audio Seminar.”

“South African producer Pascal Schmitz, director/scripwriter Damian Armstrong and DOP Richard Muller have just guided 20 filmmakers in Addis Ababa in an intensive week-long training course focused on socially responsible filmmaking. The four teams in the course were tasked with making four short documentaries about bridging social divides in Ethiopia and promoting tolerance.”

Read this article from Good News Ethiopia.

The Ten Commandments of Filmmaking
How to Work (and Survive) in the
Film and Television Industry
by Peter D. Marshall