By Daniel Nelson

Defret

Defret

Image by Defret


The film is a serious, moving, inspirational dramatisation of an Ethiopian court case. A 14-year-old, Hirut, is seized by a gang and raped by the man who wants to marry her. She escapes and during the pursuit shoots him dead.

She faces the death penalty (“abducting for marriage is our tradition”), but a lawyer from a women’s rights organisation takes over her case and, getting nowhere against prejudice, tradition and  insuperable odds, decides that attack is the best form of defence: she sues the justice minister.

Complications pile up. The lawyer, Meaza Ashenafi, looks after her at her comfortable city home, where everything is new and bewildering to village girl - whose first question is “Why don’t you have a husband?” Later, Hirut is placed in an orphanage where she is safe and life opportunities begin to open up. But she misses her family and wants to return home, where she will be killed.

Everyone faces dilemmas. Hirut’s mother blames her husband for insisting their oldest daughter attend school (her kidnap occurs while she is walking home after learning that she has passed an important exam). Ashenafi falls out with her partner in the NGO over her decision to confront the minister. The traditional under-a-tree justice system operates independently of the formal judiciary. Villagers don’t want to give evidence for fear of ostracism.

The moral and physical twists and turns are harrowing and exciting. It’s a thriller, though Ashenafi walks through the film like a forcefield, polite and quietly determined, refusing to be riled or sidetracked by the snide, sexist, arrogant and ultimately dangerous world around her. A modern haloed heroine, filmed Hollywood style. No wonder Angelina Jolie became executive producer.

"It is inspiring to see such an important story so beautifully illustrated with such creative talent," she said in a statement. "It draws out the richness of Ethiopian culture and shows how important legal advances can be made while respecting local culture.

"It is a story that gives hope for Ethiopia's future, and for other countries where countless girls grow up without the protection of laws that shield them and their bodies, and shows how the courage of brave individuals can awaken the conscience of a society."

And here’s the final twist. Despite Jolie’s backing, despite the fact that the writer and director is an Ethiopian filmmaker, Zeresenay Berhane Mehari, and that it was filmed in Ethiopia with a crew almost half of whom were women, and although the film ultimately shows Ethiopia in a positive, modernising light where the rule of law exists, its Ethiopian premier in September was stopped literally minutes before the screening.

Zeresenay, carrying his son in one hand and a microphone in the other, had to announce from the stage: “Distinguished guests, ambassadors, we were just told by the police that we have to stop this film because there is a court order on it. We have not been informed prior to this. The Ministry of Culture knows about this and the government knows about this. This is the first time we are hearing it. This is obviously an attack on us and I am really sorry for this to happen and I hope we’ll see you again…”

You can see the fiasco for yourself on YouTube (http://www.ethiotube.net/video/31876/AwrambaTimes--Difret-Film-banned-in-Ethiopia--September-03-2014) and there’s a full account of the whole sorry saga at Al Mariam’s Commentaries.

Professor Alemayehu G. Mariam, who teaches political science at California State University in the US and is a practising lawyer, presents possible reasons for the fiasco, but whatever the reason for the last-minute veto, it’s a stupid decision by officials who, even if the film is too complex for them to handle, lack the intelligence to see how it could be used to reflect credit on Ethiopia.

·         Difret is on release from Friday 6 March 2015

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