MADE IN ETHIOPIA
Canada, Ethiopia, USA, Great Britain, Denmark | 2024 | 91 min | col.
When a huge Chinese industrial complex lands in rural Ethiopia, a dusty farming town is suddenly thrust into the new frontier of globalisation. Locally led by a strong-willed woman entrepreneur, the business tries hard to promote a high-risk expansion that promises 30,000 new jobs. Among the many hopefuls, peasant Workinesh and labourer Beti bet on the new venture, but when hope clashes with the harsh reality of facts, the two women find themselves at a crucial crossroads, just like their country. Filmed over four years, the film exposes the impact of Chinese economic policies in Africa, observing two worlds collide: an industrial giant fuelled by profit and a community whose life is still measured by the cycle of the seasons. An approach from various angles on the relationship between tradition and modernity, growth and prosperity, the development of a country and the well-being of its people. (a.s.)