Ethiopian cowboy film “Kekurbaw Bestejerba” hits screens

By Alemayehu Seife Selassie

ADDIS ABABA, Ethiopia – The Ethiopian cowboy genre copycat film, “Kekurbaw Bestejerba” (“Behind the Curve”), produced and directed by Nebyou Engdawork, started premiering in Addis Ababa Tuesday at the Sebastopol Cinema.

Nebyou Engdawork has acted in the film as Abraham, a character who lost his father – a long distance truck driver – who was killed during a robbery in the countryside. In the film, Abraham grows up without his father and later be becomes a driver for the Ministry of Health.

Driving cross-country, the young man comes across another mugged driver who just lost his brother. The incident reminds Abraham of his dad, leading him to form a partnership with his new friend. The two become vigilantes on the hunt of the killers.

“I wanted to make an adventure film portraying Ethiopian natural elements, such as the forest and horse. This has made our film unique,” the director explains.

“We should not always try to use modern elements in film, such as the fancy cars and beautiful houses. Those are not the things that most of the people in our country have. Ethiopia has the largest number of cattle in Africa, and the tenth largest in the world. That is our true identity,” the director explains.

Despite having no experience, Nebyou took up the art of filmmaking, with which he fell in love when he was a child. The film “Kekurbaw Bestejerba” consumed over 450,000 birr to produce, but the cost would have been much more if it was not for the assistance the director found from close friends. But shooting in the countryside, some 200-300 kilometers away from Addis Ababa, raised the cost. “We bought some six horses, and transporting them was difficult,” the director said. “I grew up watching those Texan films, and horses are really beautiful. Such horses cost in the millions of birr around the world, but here they cost just 3,000 birr each. But the beauty they add to the film is a lot more than that,” he added.

According to Nebiyou the film is based on true events. “There are still people that rob long-distance drivers and passengers, using various curves to stop cars.”

Kekurbaw Bestejerba in a way also shows the harmony of religions in Ethiopia. In the film, the two vigilantes are a Christian and a Muslim. “My character is brought up in the film with a Muslim uncle, though the rest of the family is Christian. So that shows you not only that we can coexist – tolerating each other – but also that we are family,” Nebiyou said.

The production company that released the film is Tatek – the name of the Ethiopian Emperor Tewodros’ horse. In the near future, the filmmaker hopes to collect the opinions of viewers and make another Ethiopian film that shows battles fought by horsemen.

After screening at Sebastopol Cinema this week, Kekurbaw Bestejerba will premier at City Hall and Ambassador Cinema. Kekurbaw Bestejerba finished its final editing two months ago and had its official release two months ago, but had to wait for a venue.

25 main actors and over 150 extras took part in the film. With the exception of one actress, the actors are all new to film.

Source: Sub-Saharan Informer