A Fool God, un/a film de/by Hiwot Getaneh - Analyse/Analysis par/by Djia Mambu (Africine.org)

A Fool God, un/a film de/by Hiwot Getaneh - Analyse/Analysis par/by Djia Mambu (Africine.org)

Source: africine.org. Publ: 27/09/2019

Translated from French by Beti Ellerson, an African Women in Cinema Blog collaboration with Africine.org. 

En français : http://africine.org/?menu=art&no=14767

Ethiopian director Hiwot Getaneh returns to the Toronto International Film Festival (September 5-15, 2019) with her short film A Fool God, where she delves into the world of a little girl in deep reflection about guilt.

A Fool God explores the universe of Mesi, who seeks to exculpate herself from the condemnation of her grandmother for having cut off the head of a hen, a ritual reserved for men, and hence should have been done by her brother. While Mesi thinks she has done well in trying to help the latter who did not succeed, her grandmother holds her responsible for the death of her mother, who dies afterwards. As a sign of mourning, the grandmother shaves Mesi's head and takes the opportunity to recount a time-honored classic tale: the guilt of a poor farmer who steals from his uncle and then goes to God, asking for forgiveness. In order to prove her good faith to her grandmother, every chance she gets Mesi reinterprets the tale in her own way. Can we do wrong if our intention is good? Why blame someone who has committed an act in good faith? For Mesi, the one who condemns is a fool; and God included, if he does not pardon the condemned person.

The cinéaste Hiwot Getaneh once again puts a child at the forefront inviting us to openly question ourselves beyond all the influences impregnated by our environment, as well as our own values: faith, culture, justice, solidarity, etc. As in her previous film New Eyes where a young girl having just reached puberty begins to develop sensual feelings and desires, after witnessing a couple in amorous embrace, we are led to observe the unfolding of an innocent body and pure spirit.

The Ethiopian director takes as a starting point an original story that her grandmother recounted often when she was growing up and that she liked a lot. Moreover, Hiwot Getaneh recalls that as a child, she often accompanied her grandmother to the pension fund distribution centre, very common in a country where parents, mostly widows and mothers, go to collect the pension of a husband or soldier son who has disappeared--as we see Mesi accompany her grandmother.

A Fool God takes us back to our youth where we saw our unrestrained acts being corrected by adults, where we were confronted by prohibitions and where we had to evaluate our judgments; which we finally understood, only when we became adults.

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A Fool God,  un film de Hiwot Getaneh

Djia Mambu,
Toronto, Septembre 2019

La réalisatrice éthiopienne Hiwot Getaneh revient au Festival International de film de Toronto (5-15 septembre 2019) avec son court métrage A Fool God où elle questionne l'univers d'une petite fille en pleine réflexion sur la culpabilité.

Version originale en Français. Lire l’article en intégralité sur http://africine.org/?menu=art&no=14767