(Continued from Nov 9)
He has participated in seven short films and music videos as a director and an actor. Habtamu recently participated in an international competition. The competition (International Emmy Award) is a short film competition that involves young filmmakers from around the world by choosing one title every year. In this year’s competition titled “Let’s Stand for Peace”, Habtamu took part in the competition with the idea of “Let’s stop war and stand for peace”. The children were the focus of the film Habtamu, and when a teacher entered the classroom to do a roll call, there was not a single student in the class. And the film shows the horrors of war by saying that children are the first victims of war.
After two rounds of internal review by judges, the competition was announced for public voting. Habtamu wrote, “Vote me using various social networks to win the film in which he participated in directing and editing.” He received a message from the company that he was chosen among 25 films in the public election, that he was the winner in the next judging process, and the first from Ethiopia and East Africa.
One of the requirements of the competition was that the film should be one minute long. But conveying an idea in one minute was not easy. Therefore, Habtamu says that his favorite movie is because the idea is close to people’s feelings, and he was able to win by capturing people’s attention. In the competition, more than five thousand participants submitted films that were said to be better in terms of budget and technical ability. The company also organizes other competitions in two other fields.
His film making inspiration comes from childhood. Now he is 27 years old, and his biggest dream is to study at a film school to become a professor. In the future, when talking about movies in Ethiopia and Africa, the name of Habtamu Mekonen will be remembered. He wants to make films that are popular among the public, show them at international festivals, and make them win. He wants to tell the story of Karamara’s victory in the form of a film based on the stories that happened in our country. Filming the biographies of great people, which is rare in our country, and turning books into movies are included in the plans. In this, however, he did not forget to return to his teaching profession.
Habtamu’s dream is to bring Ethiopia’s film industry to a higher level. The movement started when he was a student, and it is to make Ethiopia have its own art council (Ethiopian Art Council). The council will help Ethiopians to have collaborations and relationships with international film organizations and to transfer film knowledge. The independent establishment of the Film Classification Board is included in the plan. The group evaluates any films made in Ethiopia to follow the culture and ethics of our country and controls the films made in other countries so that they do not go against the culture. It controls the age range of movies before they are made and released.
Habtamu credits his mother, sister, and brothers, who have played a major role in his plans and achievements, for the stage he has reached in his life. He thanked the actors who helped him with their sincerity and friendship in his winning film work, cinematographer Enoch Teshom, and his Ugandan, Kenyan, and Tanzanian friends who helped him, as well as the Ethiopians who chose him as the winner.
BY MEKLIT WONDEWOSSEN
THE ETHIOPIAN HERALD FRIDAY 10 NOVEMBER 2023
