A Fool God

Ein dummer Gott
Without hesitation, Mesi relieves her younger brother of the task of slaughtering a rooster. When her mother dies shortly afterwards, her grandmother lays the blame at Mesi‘s feet: by disobeying religious commandments, she has drawn God‘s wrath down upon the family. Unable to make sense of her grandmother‘s rigid rituals, Mesi takes a closer look at the old legends and creates her own understanding of belief and justice.
by Hiwot Admasu Getaneh
with Haimanot Mulugeta, Naif Feysel, Alemayehu Maremi, Seble Tirfe, Merid Tadios, Bekele Assefa, Beretlhem Tadesses, Elnathan Henok
France 2019 Amharic 20’ Colour empfohlen ab 11 Jahren

With

  • Haimanot Mulugeta (Girl)
  • Naif Feysel (Boy)
  • Alemayehu Maremi (Grandma)
  • Seble Tirfe (Mother)
  • Merid Tadios (Farmer)
  • Bekele Assefa (Uncle)
  • Beretlhem Tadesses (Woman with Her Baby)
  • Elnathan Henok (Baby)

Crew

Written and Directed by Hiwot Admasu Getaneh
Cinematography Julia Mingo
Editing Nicola Sbrulati
Sound Design Benjamin Laurent
Sound Tristan Pontécaille
Production Design Tamrat Yared (Kidus)
Costumes Hana Yeshitila
Assistant Director Eden Bekele
Casting Selamawit Mar, Girun Birhanetsehay
Producers Marie Dubas, Sylvain Rapaud
Executive Producer Henok Mebratu
Co-Producers David Danesi, Claire Marquet
Associate Producer Elias Ribeiro
Co-Production Digital District Paris

Hiwot Admasu Getaneh

Born in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia in 1988. After studying engineering, she joined the Blue Nile Film Academy where, in 2015, she directed her first short film New Eyes, which screened at the Venice and Toronto international film festivals. Her short documentary, Letters from Ethiopia, was selected for the International Film Festival Rotterdam. She is an alumna of Berlinale Talents and Durban Talents, the TIFF Talent Lab, the Addis to Cannes exchange programme and the Locarno Summer Academy and has participated in the Realness African Screenwriters Residency.

Filmography (short films)

2015 New Eyes 2016 Letters from Ethiopia; short documentary 2019 A Fool God

Bio- & filmography as of Berlinale 2020