“SEWYEW” .

By MEIRAFE BERHANE ..
 
- Shewaferaw Desalgen’s new film Premiers

 

The renowned actor Shewaferaw Desalgen’s new film “Sewyew” (The Man) premiered at the Addis Ababa Culture and Theater Hall last Monday. The new film, involving some 110 cast and crew members, is a suspense story on an Ethiopian family.

The 95-minute-long film took a year to make and was written, acted and directed by Shewaferaw himself. Aklilu Hailemariam also contributed to the production of the film by helping to co-write the script and Shewaferw’s Theater, Film and Advertisement promotion, produced the movie.

The drama and theater artist Shewaferaw has acted in many Ethiopian films, and took his lessons on filmmaking from his various experiences. “I have worked with different directors. As a result, I have implemented every good quality in the film from what I have learned from my directors,” says the director. The movie was filmed in Addis Ababa and Debre Libanos, some 122 km north of the capital. “Sewyew”, which was officially inaugurated this week, is currently being screened at Mati Multiplex, Alem Cinema and Embilta Cinema.
 
 

Ethiopian Movie- Sebategnaw Sew


Budget: 300,000 birr The newly premiered film Sebategnaw Sew portrays the presen Ethiopian generation as one which views western countries as a paradise and the only way out.

Solomon, played by Solomon Bogale, went to USA for a workshop with six persons. Only he comes back while the other stay behind to ask for asylum.

Everyone was surprised by his return starting with the driver who greets him at the airport to his neighborhood boys and his mother who passes out for a while when she sees him.

Neighbors console his mother who was grieving because her hope that she would turn over a new leaf in her life as a result of her son’s good fortune in America was dashed.

It’s not only his mother but also his fiancée, his sister and his brother, and his colleagues who make him feel like an outcast.

The film tries to depict through sarcasm how the society sees western countries as a paradise or a promised land that will alleviate all their problems when they get there.

It suggests that the decaying of society can also be witnessed in the person of the elite and the different officials who are supposed to protect it and take care of it.

Solomon, who dreams that his country will become prosperous, got confused due to the situation he was confronted with and even began to doubt himself, especially after he consulted a minister and university professor who made him lose hope. He felt there was no one around him who could share his feelings.

The film tries to show how western culture is completely dominating the life style of the public and the manifestation of the dominance through various means like music. It also portrays the role that the media play in the assimilation process.

Given the current crisis where people flee abroad taking risky routes, the overshadowing of the good values we have and the denial of our history and civilization, as well as the wholesale assimilation of western cultures, the film is a reminder of what is going wrong.

Even if it tries to raise a sensitive issue it seems to be lost in translation as it lumps everyone under one category and generalizes that everyone has the same thoughts.

Some of the scenes seem a bit exaggerated even for a satire. The film uses irony to convey its message but is shallow with the ideas it raises. It seems only intended to make people laugh.

After watching the film one only remembers the scenes which are funny but forgets the real message it aimed to pass on.

Starring:  Solomon Bogale, Etaferahu Mebrahtu, Kiros Haileselassie, Getachew Abera, Samson Tadesse, Fikadu Kebede, Sirgutemariam Kitaw,Moges Chekol, Yared Egu, Fasil Girma, Sisay Bekele, Binyam Worku,Taye Woinshet, Solomon Tashe

Director: Binyam Worku

Producer: Aster Film Production

Script writer: Binyam Worku

Genre: Satire comedy

Running time: 1hr 20 minutes