Sept. 1, 2019, 2:07 p.m. by
Ethiopia Submits ‘Yenifasu Filmya’ to Compete for OscarADDIS ABABA – Ministry of Culture has submitted a film to compete for the92nd Academy Awards for Best International Feature Film, popularly known as “The Oscars”, for the first time in its history, an official said on Tuesday.
The submission came after the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) invited Ethiopia to provide its best film for the Academy Award for best foreign-language film.
Ministry of Culture and Tourism has submitted a film titled ‘Yenifasu Filmya’ or ‘Running against the Wind’ for the 2020 Oscar edition. The ministry submitted the only film submitted to it after issuing a public notice looking for a work, its officials said. They, however, said the movie has been produced with the best technical preparation and in a way that properly represents the values of local people. Yisma Tsige, Culture Industry Development director at the ministry, said the 115-minutes-long movie is directed by Jan Philipp Weyl but involves many Ethiopians as producers and actors. It will hit public cinemas in September. It is made in Amharic and Oromifa languages and narrates the story of two young men’s efforts to make their dreams come true. The film shows a single photo change the lives of two twelve-year-old boys, who live in a remote village near western city Harrar. One eventually heads to Addis Ababa to become a photographer while the other remains at home and trains to fulfill his dreams of matching the success of the sport of Haile Gebreselassie.
Yisma told reporters it is for the first time that a movie to be proposed by the ministry for such academy awards.
Previously, movie producers and other figures in the area had to apply to compete, said the director.
By Sisay Sahlu