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

Hiwot Admasu Getaneh: “New Eyes” (Ethiopia | Ethiopie)

New Eyes de/by Hiwot Admasu Getaneh (Ethiopia | Ethiopie)

Source: https://fr.ulule.com/new-eyes/

About the film | À propos du film:

The idea of ​​this short film is to get young adolescents to understand that puberty and its changes, that the discovery of sexuality, that its understanding and mastery, are not things that must remain taboo or be repressed.

L'idée de ce court-métrage est de faire comprendre à de jeunes adolescents que la puberté et ses changements, que la découverte de la sexualité, que sa compréhension et sa maîtrise, ne sont pas des choses qui doivent rester taboues ou être réprimée.

Synopsis
Source: http://www.films-am.com/new-eyes.html

In Ethiopia, near the capital Addis Ababa, a young teenage girl is witness to an experience that will awaken her sexuality for the first time in her life. Troubled by this revelation, she tries to understand and control this new emotion.

During an ordinary morning at the riverside,  a shy girl sees a couple making love. Troubled, she tries to focus on what she is doing when the couple returns to the river for a swim. Nonetheless, she cannot help but look at the nude body of the man who is bathing. Her gaze is transformed, and hence, she observes her surroundings through the prism of her new desire, transforming everything and everyone into a sexual object. She then envisages her nascent sexual life and her place as a woman...

En Ethiopie, près de la capitale Addis-Abeba, une jeune fille en pleine adolescence est témoin d’une expérience qui va éveiller sa sexualité pour la première fois de sa vie. Troublée par cette révélation, elle essaie de comprendre et de maitriser cette nouvelle émotion.

Au bord d’une rivière, lors d’une matinée a priori ordinaire, une jeune fille timide aperçoit un couple en train de faire l’amour. Troublée, elle tente de se concentrer sur ce qu’elle est en train de faire lorsque le couple rejoint la rivière pour se baigner. Elle n’arrive alors pas à s’empêcher de regarder le corps nu de l’homme qui se lave. Son regard en est transformé et elle observe tout ce qui l’entoure à travers le prisme de son nouveau désir, transformant tout et tout le monde en objet sexuel. Elle entrevoit alors sa vie sexuelle naissante et sa place en tant que femme...

Filmmaker's Note of Intention | Note d’intention de la réalisatrice

My first inspiration for this story is an experience that I had at 12 years old. Although my experience is different from Selam's story, all the confusion, excitement and guilt that I felt at this time is reflected in the film. At the time, I was very pious and I felt guilty about these new emotions. Today, I consider this awakening as a beautiful event that changed my life.

Ma première inspiration pour cette histoire est une expérience vécue à 12 ans. Bien que mon expérience soit différente de l’histoire de Selam, toute la confusion, l’excitation mais aussi la culpabilité ressentie à cette époque est reflétée dans ce film. À l’époque, j’étais très pieuse et je me sentais coupable de ces nouvelles émotions. Aujourd’hui, je considère cet éveil comme étant un bel événement qui a changé ma vie.

Description

New Eyes tells the story of a young girl, whose experience during an ordinary day, triggers an evolution from puberty to the awareness of her sexuality, and the place of it in her new life as she journeys to womanhood. The story ends with an awareness of her desire and pleasure, without even realizing that this will be one of the major turning points in her discovery of herself and in the perception of her environment.

New Eyes raconte le parcours d’une jeune fille, lors d’une journée ordinaire, de la puberté à la prise de conscience de sa sexualité, et de la place de celle-ci dans sa nouvelle vie de femme. L’histoire s’achève dès le moment où elle prendra conscience de son désir et du plaisir, sans même encore se rendre compte que cela sera l’un des tournants majeurs dans sa découverte d’elle-même et dans la perception de son environnement.