BY MULUGETA GUDETA
Ethiopia has a long tradition of theatre productions starting from the period of the second Italo-Ethiopian war of 1936 when patriotic Ethiopians established the first theatre hall in the capital Addis Ababa known as Hager Fikir Theatre (Patriotic Theatre). Hager Fikir was established to stage patriotic dramas intended to mobilize people for the anti-fascist resistance. The skills accumulated over the following decades in theatre production were later on used for film production. Ethiopians had many good theatre script writers and many storytellers well before film production started in the country.
However, the Ethiopian film industry had to wait many decades before it flourished in the 1980s and 1990s with the establishment of private film production companies and the subsequent production of local films by Ethiopians addressing domestic themes. The birth of the Ethiopian film industry was embraced with enthusiasm by the audience. This was the first time that the Ethiopian audience was offered the opportunity to see local films that dealt with the lives of ordinary people. Investors were encouraged to put their money into film production.
In the last twenty years or so, hundreds of genre films were produced and shown in local theatres.
The film industry in Ethiopia has grown by leaps and bounds in the last two decades or so since its beginnings in the 1990s. Although a few films were made in the country in the 1960s and 1970s, movie making as an industry is a very recent phenomenon. Even by African standards, the Ethiopian film industry has started relatively late. Egypt, Nigeria, Senegal, South Africa, to name a few countries, have very advanced film industries.
These countries started to produce films very early and had the advantage of experience and talent to grow into formidable cultural tools. Nigeria’s Nolywood, as the industry is called, is estimated to be the third most important film industry after the American Hollywood and the Indian Bollywood. By comparison, the Ethiopian film industry is making baby steps to emerge as an important cultural and/or commercial activity.
Ethiopian films, mostly made in Amharic, display the essential characteristic of childhood. The themes are mostly about love, the actors are often cast several times in many films, and the script writers, producers, directors and actors are often the same people, This is mainly due to the absence of a proper division of labor in turn case by budgetary constraints as well as lack of experience. Most filmmakers in Ethiopia have no proper training in the craft. There is no film academy in the country.
Most of the script writers, actors and film directors were trained in the theatre world. No wonder then that many of the weaknesses of the film industry are problems of growth and development. No country in the world has achieved a high level of artistic production as soon as it was born. Even the American film industry used to suffer from the same weaknesses back in the 1930s and 1940s for instance. The situation is more difficult in Africa where the film industry is not a priority for investment and money is in short supply and actors and script writers are not well paid.
Another shortcoming of the Ethiopian film industry is the fact that film is not yet being regarded as an art form but as simply an entertainment. Since film art is not taught at universities or colleges, there is little awareness as to the need to look at it as an art form worthy of analysis, criticism and evaluation. Theatre awareness is relatively better developed among the audience and critics because drama is taught at university level and teachers and students are well-trained in the skills of art criticism. It is only through objective analysis or objective evaluation of films that the Ethiopian film industry will grow and develop as a tool of shaping the tastes and knowledge of the audience as well as all those involved in the development of the industry.
A common characteristic, or a common thread that runs through almost all Ethiopian films these days is the striking similarities in themes, characters and acting style. Almost all of them deal with romantic themes or love stories that start with comic episodes (as if the objective of film is to make you laugh!) and finish with tragic endings (as if the purpose of film is to make you cry!). The thematic approaches to film writing and producing is highly influenced by Indian techniques and concepts since the Ethiopian audience was highly exposed to Indian movies back in the 1960s to 1990s when Ethiopian films by Ethiopian actors and producers started to appear on the scene.
This similarity is not confined to choice of theme by film writers. It is also visible in the process of casting as almost all actors are not only come from the world of theatrical drama but also share among them some biases. The writers as well as the producers and directors seem to think that actors should be handsome or pretty to be worthy of the silver screen. They do not make the actors physical appearances conform to the subject matter of the film. All actors in all circumstances have to be handsome or pretty to the extent that being handsome has become synonymous with being an actor or actress. However, the greatest actors in film history were not all physically attractive.
The great sarcastic or comic performer of the silent movies namely Charlie Chaplin was not a very attractive man or a handsome person. His attraction rather emanates from his being not attractive physically, from his funny mannerisms and his talent to make people laugh by his acts, whether tragic or comic. More contemporary actors such as James Clooney, Bruce Willis, or Sylvester Stallone are not famous for their handsome faces. They rather represent rugged characters that are played brilliantly. George Clooney is a ruggedly handsome bachelor fit for playing the role of lady’s man and most of his films deal with men-women relationships. Bruce Willis, a not-so-handsome actor is featuring in major war movies because of his toughness that is reflected on his face as well as in his voice and speech mannerisms.
We can keep on demonstrating that actors need not necessarily be handsome or pretty in order to be given lead roles. Acting is not only a physical feature but also includes, gesture, speech, facial features that are fit for a given role and so on. Sean Connery, s brilliant line, “Bond, James Bond!” that he utter whenever he is asked his name tells a great deal about the role he plays than any of his facial or physical features.
The other problem in Ethiopian movies is the repetition of the same theme of love gone awry or relationships that end in tragedy and family dramas involving a cheating husband versus a lovelorn wife…etc. are show over and over to the extent of becoming hackneyed or predictable. If you can predict the end of story by simply watching two or three minutes of the opening scene, there is no reason for you to sit in the dark for two hours feeling bored and regretting the decision to go to the movie that day.
The absence of film criticism seems to have encouraged film makers to congratulate one another in interviews and talk shows so much so the audience accepts whatever is thrown at it in the name of entertainment. Sometimes movie watchers express their opinions of a given film but these opinions are no more than expressions of likes or dislikes of a given film. they don’t tell you why they love them or hate them. There is no clear guideline for loving or hating a film because of the absence of the critical tools of objective evaluation that are based not on subjective impressions but critical yardsticks.
That is why film criticism must be understood and used to evaluate films, telling the strong and weak points and suggesting ways of improving performance. film criticism is defined as being, “The analysis and evaluation of films and the film medium. In general, film criticism can be divided into two categories: journalistic criticism which appears regularly in newspapers, magazines and other popular mass-media outlets; and academic criticism by film scholars who are informed by film theory and are published in academic journals. Academic film criticism rarely takes the form of a review; instead it is more likely to analyze the film and its place within the history of its genre, or the whole of film history.”
What is the use of film criticism? “ Film criticism is the study, interpretation and evaluation of a film with regard to issues such as historical context, theory or technical analysis. Film criticism is written by academics and is published in books or scholarly journals. … Critical reviews may be published many years after a film is released.
“What is the importance of film criticism? Film criticism is not only meant to help shape how we view films, but also meant to help shape the film industry as a whole. By providing film experts and gurus an outlet with which to highlight the good and bad of every film, directors and actors can relish in their technical successes and learn from harsh reviews.”
How do you do film criticism? “Writing a movie critique means offering your insight and opinion on what was good and not that good with the movie and what made it intriguing to watch. There’s always something you like about the film and something you don’t. You may consider that the plot was good, but the special effects were horrible. Think of all the possible film production stages and try to look at them critically. Criticizing does not mean expressing negative emotions. Too much pessimism will kill the reader’s desire to get closely acquainted with your writing. Even though the movie could be a real failure, try to present a sophisticated evaluation.”
From the above quoted passages one can see that the objectives of film criticism are diverse and useful for all the stakeholders, namely script writers, actors, directors, producers and ultimately the film industry. It is therefore important for industry insiders to encourage critiques because they are useful for promoting the qualities of the films, correct the defects and bring the Ethiopian film industry to the next level.
Film criticism is also useful for audience development or maturity. Well-executed films teaches important lessons about history, society, the sciences, culture and geography. They can bring the past to life so that new generations can understand their country, societies and cultures. It can show the viewers what the positive and negative aspects of films are and what are the means of improving their forms as well as their contents. it can also help them make better choices whenever they decide to go to the movies.
Ethiopia urgently needs a film academy where script writers, actors, producers and directors and other craftsmen of the industry could learn the techniques, technologies and arts of filmmaking. Film is an art form that should be guided not only with passion or money but with knowledge and hard work. “ More often known as film theory or film studies, academic critique explores cinema beyond journalistic film reviews. These film critics try to examine why film works, how it works aesthetically or politically, what it means, and what effects it has on people. Rather than write for mass-market publications their articles are usually published in scholarly journals and texts which tend to be affiliated with university presses; or sometimes in up-market magazines.”
It is also with such knowledge that authentically Ethiopian films can develop through time so that Ethiopian lives and history would be presented to the outside world and become competitive at the international levels. To achieve this, we have to be honest and admit that we have lost time and that we have to make an urgent work to catch up with the rest of African countries late alone with the global film industry.
We don’t have to pretend that the Ethiopian industry has already produced great filmmakers or great actors. As compared with the rest of the world, we are rather at the bottom and not at the top of film development. The good news is that with honesty dedication and hard work we can make our way to the top because all countries have started from scratch and made it to the top.
THE ETHIOPIAN HERALD AUGUST 31/ 2021
