The oldest film festival in the world is continuing its 65th run this week. The Venice Film Festival started August 27 and will end this Saturday, September 6. Hosted on the Lido in Venice, the festival feels like a throwback to old Hollywood with its glamour, high-profile stars, and films of international fare and substance.
The new Cohen brothers film will debut, a documentary on Valentino will hit screens, and stars like Charlize Theron, Anne Hathaway and of course Pitt and Clooney will walk on a sea of red carpet. And though I’m intrigued by the big stars and big films, its always the little films with little fanfare that hook my attention.
“Teza” by Ethiopian director Haile Gerima tells the story of an Ethiopian man, Anberber, who flees the violent upheaval of Ethiopia in the 80’s during the Marxist-endorsed “red terror”. He journeys to find a safe haven in Germany but is only horrifically stifled by racism. Unable to find his place in either world, he returns once again to East Africa, only to to witness more upheaval and be treated as a foreigner in his own land.
Autobiographical of Gerima’s life, “Teza” poignantly touches on both the character Anberber and Gerima’s struggle to tap into their only solace, childhood memories.
“I go to Ethiopia and I dream my past but the present is so powerful it continues to hijack my sentimental journey to my childhood. I think it’s the idea that you want your childhood world to come back, I think that is universal,” said Gerima.
“In Africa the luxury to remember memory is hijacked by daily violence, either silent violence or obvious violence.”
I personally find much more value in hearing a true tale like Gerimas than a fictional piece or an animated feature. It pulls you into worlds that are raw and sharp, that beg to be exposed and that demand your ignorance be put down.
Are you at all in tune with films debuting at the Venice Film Festival? What kind of films attract your attention and why?
To read more, go to: http://ca.news.yahoo.com/s/reuters/080902/n_entertain_reuters/entertainment_venice_ethiopia_col
Image credit: bartgroe
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