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

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.

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".

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.

Film about the Ethiopian famine of I984/85 and the measures taken to combat it

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 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.

Finding Sally tells the incredible story of a 23-year-old woman from an upper-class family who became a communist rebel with the Ethiopian People's Revolutionary Party.

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

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.

35 Cows and a Kalashnikov is a joyously made triptych about warrior-farmers, colorful dandies and voodoo wrestlers in Ethiopia, Brazzaville and Kinshasa. It paints a loving and attentive portrait of African pride and beauty.

"After a freak accident leaves him deaf, a young man enters therapy, only to discover that losing his hearing has granted him a deeper understanding of his fractured family and inner turmoil. ግብረ ጉንዳን/Gbre gundan is a psychological drama that blurs the line between perception and reality, questioning whether true healing comes from what we hear or what we choose to ignore."

Hayelom from the Tigray region in Ethiopia is deeply in love with Lielt from Ethiopia’s Amhara region. When Tigrai militants invade the Amhara region, he joins the militants and she joins the Ethiopian defense force, causing their love to face an expected turn. An epic film of love and war.

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.

"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.

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.

The Surmas live in the Kibish River Valley, in southern Ethiopia, where modern man was born 195,000 years ago. They hold up the mirror to us of a past in which we can recognize ourselves, despite the geographical and cultural distance. This semi-nomadic people who depend on livestock is not well known. Traditional donga fighting, a duel with sticks, earned them a reputation for brutality which keeps outsiders at a distance. In fact, the donga is a martial art that celebrates values necessary for survival in a region torn by tribal warfare. This nation of 28,000 souls possesses nothing other than its livestock. Its impoverished condition is an art of extreme living that commands respect.

SALKAN Film Production Presents

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?

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