Entertainment

In the beginning, the question was: Why Ethiopia? Why hotfoot to a remote, unsung African nation when the oomph of the Serengeti plains in Tanzania or the lure of Kenya's Big Five lurked in the neighbourhood? However, within a day or two of landing in this charming land of genteel people, that query was turned on its head: Why didn't I visit this place before?

LONDON (Thomson Reuters Foundation) - An Ethiopian woman whose terrifying ordeal of kidnap and rape at the hands of her would-be husband inspired Angelina Jolie's new film Difret says she hopes her story will help end the tradition of child bride abductions.Difret, which is released in the United States on Friday, tells the story of Aberash Bekele who was put on trial for murder at the age of 14 after shooting dead her abductor in a case which sent shockwaves through Ethiopia.Bekele, who spent many years in exile after the trial, said she was inspired to speak out by Malala, the Nobel prize-winning girls' rights campaigner

‘Lamb’ is a tender and beautifully shot debut feature by young Ethiopian director Yared Zeleke. Ephraim has recently lost his mother. He lives in a …

Ethiopia’s first success at the Cannes Film Festival tells a simple tale, but the film’s director has set his sights on the world stage thanks …

There are a lot of good films being made in Africa and we rarely get to see any of them outside of festivals, so Ethiopian filmmaker Zeresenay Mehari’s eye-opening social justice drama, based on a groundbreaking true story, deserves an audience.14-year-old Hirut (Tizita Hagere) is on her way home from school when she is run down by men on horseback, abducted, beaten and raped. Her chief tormentor crows that she is now his 'bride' but, as she makes her escape, Hirut grabs his gun and, when cornered, shoots him. And although her poor farmer father had previously rejected her 'suitor', because of Hirut’s youth and desire for an education, much of the community is united in wanting her executed.

An unexpectedly peculiar film, and I love what I see here, if only for that reason. But there's more than enough in it to make me want to see the entire film.

Things always get lost in translation. Sometimes, words or phrases just cannot be converted word-for-word from one language to the next. But in most places, the date and the time works pretty much the same all over the world.Not in Ethiopia.

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DIFRET is only the fourth feature film to be made in Ethiopia and is this year's Ethiopian submission for the Oscar for Best Foreign Language film.

The compelling "Difret" is a small film with a lot on its mind.Authentic and affecting, this drama about fighting against the Ethiopian tradition of abducting young girls into marriage is potent enough to be that country's official Academy Award submission and gain the support of Angelina Jolie as an executive producer.