Former Miss Ethiopia makes Pr. Girma documentary film

The 2006 Miss Ethiopia Amleset Muchie currently studying filmmaking at New York Film Academy is making a documentary on the life of President Girma Wolde-Giorgis.
The one-hour long documentary which is a school project for the actress, model and director would chronicle a day in the life of the president as told by himself, close associates and her own commentary. The documentary would bring an intimate look behind the Jubilee Palace showing as the president attending staff conference, meeting with dignitaries and ceremonial events.
The 84-year-old president who holds a symbolic office with little power has authorized Amleset to come and document him. Amleset is hoping to start shooting soon and have it ready in months’ time.
The doc would be premiered at the Film Academy and other festivals.
Amleset has already written and produced a romantic comedy, Si Le Fikir (About love) and has also starred in another Amharic film “Ye Felegal.”

Washington-based nonprofit supports excellent Ethiopian adventure

Washington-based Girls Gotta Run is already supporting Ethiopian girls training to be professional runners.

Now, the Chevy Chase volunteer-run nonprofit is supporting the work of an Occidental College student named Kayla Nolan who is spending the summer in Ethiopia researching the benefits Ethiopian girls and women can reap from running. Like those involved with Girls Gotta Run, Nolan believes involvement in the sport can empower Ethiopian girls and women, offering them paths out of poverty and teenage childbirth to education and independence. Girls Gotta Run helped Nolan write a proposal that netted her a research fellowship from Occidental College, which is fully funding the trip.

As part of her research, Nolan is visiting and getting to know members of the four teams Girls Gotta Run provides support for. Best of all, she's blogging about her experience here.

Girls Gotta Run has raised more than $24,000 in the past two years to buy shoes, training clothes, food and other training essentials for Ethiopian girls training to become professional runners. Among its fund-raising events is an immensely popular art exhibit in the Washington area for which local artists design and sell artwork related to shoes, running and motion.

For more info: Visit Girls Gotta Run online.

Adwa: An African Victory (1999)

The story of the 1896 battle of Adwa is being told by Ethiopian-born director Haile Gerima. He explores European colonialism from an African perspective and the significance of the legendary battle that defeated the Italian expansionist movement and kept Ethiopia the one and only African country that was not occupied by a European colonial power in the last 200 years.

His argument is quite ambitious and perhaps not entirely justified throughout the movie: the battle of Adwa is a symbol of African liberation for Africans of all nations. It is a source of motivation that has inspired other African liberators in their quest of freeing Africa from colonialism. On one hand, it is true that the fact that Ethiopia has been the only internationally recognized sovereign African could have been a reason for admiration and hope on behalf of various African elites. But actually making the argument that the victory from Adwa was an African victory, profoundly embedded in the political culture of the African people can be fairly misleading: most African liberation fighters were driven by the local specificities and the local hardships. If they found hope and faith in a successful independence story, that might have been Ghana, the first Sub-Saharan country that became independent in 1957, and not Ethiopia. That being said, the documentary is worth watching because it presents how a historical event has been filtrated through the public consciousness of the Ethiopian people. Haile Gerima brings together Ethiopians from very different backgrounds and allows them to tell the story of the battle from their own perspective.

It is obvious that the astounding victory of Emperor Menelik and Empress Taitu to defend their nation against the far better-equipped invading Italian army has served as a source of inspiration for millions of Ethiopians along the years. Grandfathers, fathers, teachers, brothers have instilled in the new generations the passion and the national pride that was sourced in this amazing victory. In fact, the director confesses early on that he came back to Ethiopia to understand, discover and see with his own eyes whether the Battle from Adwa was indeed an amazing victory or simply a myth. He achieves his goal by talking to Ethiopian historians, teachers, professors, singers, artists, old people, children, and random people he meets along the way. He also looks at documents, paintings, engravings, and testimonies that are also shown and explored in this documentary.

The battle of Adwa occurred in 1896, at a time when European powers were advancing in all directions on the African continent, taking over the land and the people either peacefully or by force. As one historian mentions in the documentary, Italians saw Ethiopia as their birthright and consequently desired to take over it. Emperor Menelik II was able to unify all the local factions and bring together an impressive army of about 150,000 soldiers outnumbering the Italians 10 to 1 or even 15 to one. He did that while astutely deceiving European powers by convincing them that he was simply following their directions. After the Italians lost the fights, they left thousands of riffles and means of transportation behind and fled the country.

Why watch the movie?

The documentary is an interesting sociological exercise that is focused on the politics of experience. It shows how very different people think of a particular historical event, what meaning they gain out of that, and how that experience is translated into their every day life. Needless to say, the victory, while significant, has had hardly any consequence on people’s lives. The documentary is worth watching if you have an interest in Ethiopian history or African history in general. It is also an interesting documentary from a visual point of view as it creates a very appealing product by using very limited historical data.

This documentary is rated 8 / 10

Ethiopian supermodel redefines what it is to be a renaissance woman.

BY CRISTINA GREEVEN CUOMO AND SAMANTHA YANKS | Hamptons Magazine

NEW YORK — At the Metropolitan Museum of Arts Costume Institute Gala last month, Ethiopian model Liya Kebede fit the “Model As Muse” theme perfectly — a stunning, slender and shining muse in a Derek Lam dress. But there is so much more beneath this supermodel's beautiful facade. With two kids (an eight-year-old son and a three-year-old daughter), a husband of 10 years, a sustainable children's clothing line called Lemlem and a design partnership with J.Crew's Crewcuts, it's a wonder she?s able to juggle so much and still look so lovely. And her recent Vogue cover depicts to a tee the manner in which she does so — gracefully and elegantly.

Kebede quickly emerged as one of the world?s top models, landing campaigns like Yves Saint Laurent and evolving far past the girl Tom Ford discovered years ago. As the World Health Organization's Goodwill Ambassador for Maternal, Newborn and Child Health and head of her own eponymous foundation supporting women in need worldwide, she understands the value of giving back and passing that important message along to her children
.

HAMPTONS: What was the inspiration behind Lemlem?

LIYA KEBEDE: If I weren't a model I wouldn't have done it. As a model, I learned so much about clothes and the making of a garment. I'm from Ethiopia, and on one of our trips we visited local weavers working in poor conditions who didn't have a market for their products anymore. I was in a position to try to give them jobs, keep their art alive and also bring the sensibility of a unique garment to the West. That's the whole picture of how Lemlem was created. I started with children clothes because I love shopping for my children. It also gives kids here something beautiful that was made in Africa.

H: And how did the J.Crew Crewcuts initiative evolve?

LK: I met Mickey Drexler professionally as a model, and I suggested showing them the line, knowing they would love it. And they did. It evolved from me being a model for J.Crew to this bigger collaboration with them supporting this great endeavor.

H: What are some of your fashion must-haves this summer?

LK: I was in Paris for the shows and I bought beautiful K.Jacques sandals. I also love Proenza Schouler, Marc Jacobs, Derek Lam and Lanvin.

H: How did your modeling career begin?

LK: I modeled when I was in Ethiopia, doing little fashion shows for school. I fell in love with it and thought I would model to pay off my college tuition. I went to Paris and had a rough time, then moved to America and pursued it. I was in Chicago for two years before I made the big move to New York. I was here for about a season before I booked my first Tom Ford show. I feel like Tom discovered me.

H: This year you're starring in a film that chronicles another model's career. Tell us more.

LK: It's the story of Waris Dirie, a Somalian model in the '90s. She ran away from home as a young girl to flee an arranged marriage. She was discovered by Terence Donovan while working in London and became a renowned model. At the height of her career she became a goodwill ambassador and spoke for the first time about how she was circumcised as a little girl. She had an incredible life, and she wrote an autobiography called Desert Flower. We made the movie from that book.

H: You?re also a goodwill ambassador. Do you travel often for the UN?

LK: I was in Senegal before Christmas for an AIDS conference. It's always nice to go on the ground because you get such a better understanding of what is going on there.

H: And when you're in the Hamptons, what are your favorite things to do?

LK: We play tennis a lot. And we love the quiet. To be able to open your door and go out in the garden and have that still moment while the kids can be in the backyard — I find that beautiful and very relaxing. The kids are in the pool the whole day. We go grocery shopping, and they have cute toy stores. We also love going to the cinema in East Hampton.

H: What are your goals for your foundation?

LK: We try to help mothers get basic health care during pregnancy and delivery. Every minute a woman dies during pregnancy or childbirth, often from things that are completely treatable or preventable. In five years I want the whole world to know about this issue. We want maternal health to be a priority. I would love for Mother's Day to become a celebration of mothers around the world — a day not just for your mom, but to remember others and to help save a mother in another part of the world.

H: You managed to make your business "sustainable." How does that work?

LK: The challenge is to help these women be independent by giving someone a job so they can earn money, support their families and send their kids to school.

H: And how do you think President Obama is doing?

LK: Fantastic. It's such a moment for us to have him as president. The way everybody sees America has completely transformed since he's been in office, and everybody is looking up to him. For me and my kids, living in America, it's so great to see a black president. I'm not sure I thought I would ever see it in my lifetime. And now for my kids it?s something normal, which is priceless.

Long Distance: A film about an Ethiopian athlete in the Bronx

Events News
Source: Brooklyn International Film Festival
Category: Documentary
Director: Moritz Siebert
(a freelance journalist, a medical doctor and a filmmaker)
Showtime: 2:00 pm | Saturday June 13 | Brooklyn Heights Cinema

Synopsis
Abiyot is one of several African long distance runners, trying to make a living and career in the US. Once he was a promising member of the Ethiopian national team, but two years ago he left his country to start a new life. Weekend after weekend, he races with fellow African athletes in road races, competing over a few hundred dollars of prize money. The film follows Abiyot as he prepares for an important race. Every morning at break of dawn he tirelessly trains in the empty streets of his Bronx neighborhood. With every aspect of his daily routine centered on his training, his footsteps not only dictate the rhythm of his life, but also become the pervasive rhythm of the film. In phone calls with his family back home, Abiyot tries to convince them and himself, that the running will pay off in the long term… A film about endurance, migration and the American Dream.

WATCH TRAILER

Married celebrity entrepreneurs

These dynamic duos give new meaning to "power couple."

Beauty, fame, entrepreneurial success--that's more than most of us can hope for.

Now imagine marrying someone who also brought those qualities to the altar. Such rare, dynamic duos exist. Each on his or her own is a force--in entertainment, fashion, food, you name it--but together, these couples give new meaning to the expression "power couple."

Take Beyonce Knowles, 27, and husband Shawn Corey Carter, aka Jay-Z, 39. The former lead singer of girl group Destiny's Child, Knowles has rocked a Grammy-winning multi-platinum R&B solo career since 2003. She's also appeared in movies like Dreamgirls and The Pink Panther, and has racked up millions in endorsement fees from the likes Pepsi, L'Oreal and Armani.

Hip-hop hubby Jay-Z, meanwhile, is no slouch as an entrepreneur. Former chief of the Def Jam record company, he also founded clothing line Rocawear in 1995, which he sold to Iconix Brand Group in 2007 for $204 million. Concert promoter Live Nation recently signed Jay-Z to an exclusive 10-year, $150 million deal covering all merchandising, promotion and touring. Beyond the music and fashion realms, Jay-Z owns 40/40, a chain of upscale sports bars, and has a $4.5 million stake in the New Jersey Nets basketball squad. Real estate holdings include a mid-block parcel on the West Side of Manhattan, purchased for $66 million in late 2007, on which he plans to build a hotel.

Makes you tired just thinking about it all. It begs the question too: When do these busy lovebirds ever get a chance to share a relaxing cup of coffee?

Then again, when you're hardwired for accomplishment, down time doesn't take top priority. "Could you imagine if I didn't work and just sat and home and waited for him once my kids went to bed?" asks Gelila Assafa Puck, second wife of celebrity chef Wolfgang Puck. Ethiopian-born Assefa Puck owned her own Los Angeles couture store from 1998 through 2001. In 2006, she launched a line of high-end handbags, manufactured in South Africa, that sell for $7,000 to $30,000. (She says she hopes to return to fashion design when her 2- and 4-year-old sons are old enough for school.) If that weren't enough, she also operates a non-profit in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, that sponsors secondary schooling for about 400 children.

Supermodel turned furniture- and cosmetics-marketer Cindy Crawford admits that finding enough quality time with club-owner husband Rande Gerber and their two kids can be a struggle. Get it right, though, and there's a hidden upside, she says: "If you love your job and you're passionate about it, it's good for the kids because they see me doing work that I like."

As for Gerber, he knows the power couple has to stay vigilant to maintain the right balance. "We make our own schedules, and we go over them often to make sure we're together enough each month and with our kids," he says.

Another benefit to tying up with a celebrity entrepreneur: synergy. Gerber's international portfolio of bars, hotels and nightclubs--including the Stone Rose Lounge in New York, L.A. and Scottsdale, Ariz.; Midnight Rose in Madrid, Spain; and the Rose Bar in Cancun, Mexico--syncs well with Crawford's living billboard persona. "In some cases, one plus one is more than two," says Crawford. "Rande gives me a cool factor. He's New York and a nightclub guy. I probably give him the glitz and glamour factor."

Yet a third dimension to celebrity unions: "A relationship or marriage gets the public to see a celebrity in a different light as a wife, husband, mother or father versus a movie star or a TV star," says Chalcea Park, managing director of talent and licensing for Davie Brown Entertainment, a branding consultancy. That connection can endear customers to an enterprise in a way that a two-dimensional magazine page or a movie screen can't.

Last but not least, there's the good, old-fashioned empathy and support that come from being married to someone who truly understands your plight--and who can offer a welcome fresh perspective. "If there's a big decision, [Rande and I] talk to each other," says Crawford. "We do very different work, and it's good, because he can give me a totally different perspective on business decisions."

(Maureen Farrell, forbes.com)

Matt Damon Visits Ethiopia — One By One

ONEXONE Foundation Ambassador Matt Damon brings awareness to Africa’s water crisis, visiting a hand-dug well just outside Mekele, Ethiopia on Tuesday (April 20).

In his right hand, the 38-year-old actor holds a bottle of regular water, in his left is a bottle of dirty water local children in Mekele drink everyday.

You can view more pictures and video from Matt’s trip at OneXOne.com.

Matt also made a trip to Rwanda, where he met President Paul Rigame and visited a Millennium Village, hospitals and clinics.

Ethiopian Supermodel Liya Kebede honors Shaft

Gotham Hall in Manhattan on Tuesday night was all about glam and diversity as model Liya Kebede, Russell Simmons, Isabel Toledo, and Bruce Weber accepted awards from The Gordon Parks Foundation. “Gordon Parks was my man! He was my hero!” said Russell Simmons before sitting down to join an audience that included Anna Wintour (dressed in shimmering gold), Ralph Lauren (with wife Ricky and son David in tow), and designer Zac Posen. “Gordon Parks comes from the tradition of photographers who look so carefully at the people who wander the streets,” said rocker Patti Smith. “He made me see the human being a little differently. You’re in the subway and all of a sudden you see people’s ruminations, sorrows, and the whole tableau of human emotions.” Smith recounted how when she first came to New York, her first stop was Café Reggio’s because she recognized it from the soundtrack to Parks’ seminal blaxploitation film “Shaft”. “’Shaft’ was mind-blowing,” said Kebede, who saw the film as a kid growing up in Ethiopia.


The evening was more sneakers and suits than Shaft-like cool, except for the striking emcee, Andre Leon Talley. The Vogue editor-at-large was dressed in a massive black Isabel Toledo caftan coupled with an oversized gold Roger Vivier necklace and diamente buckle shoes (talk about bringing on the bling). Manhattan awards galas are notorious for being of epic length, but last night’s ceremony galloped along at a perfect pace, with Bruce Weber’s funky documentary “Liberty City Is Like Paris To Me” — which portrayed joyous Floridian street scenes during this past January’s inauguration — the meandering exception. Best that Bruce, swaying backstage to the music of his documentary, stick to photographing labs and naked young men.

Parks (a renaissance man who was a photographer, cinematographer, musician, poet, novelist, journalist, activist, and film director) was lauded throughout the evening for his ground-breaking role as an African-American artiste and for his non-Avedon-esque, un-staged fashion photography. “He’s an inspiration to me,” said hot young fashion designer Chris Benz, “because there’s a nice electricity showing that things aren’t so perfect.” But perhaps the most touching moment in an otherwise serious evening was when artist Ruben Toledo toasted his wife, designer Isabel Toledo. After praising Parks for his “soulful glamour,” Toledo couldn’t help but note “and my wife makes the best Cuban black beans in the world.”

Ethiopia's Mulatu Astatke goes to England

Mulatu Astatke/The Heliocentrics
Strut Records (www.strut-records.com)

You can hear the creative sparks flying on this self-titled collaboration between renowned Ethiopian instrumentalist and bandleader Mulatu Astatke and The Heliocentrics, an innovative musical collective from the UK. The Heliocentrics backed Astatke on a rare live appearance in London in 2008 and joined him a few months later to capture in the studio some of what had worked so well on stage. It’s a good thing that everyone involved (including some other London-based Ethiopian players and singers) had time and energy to spare, because the resulting CD melds Ethiopian tradition and freewheeling fusion as perfectly as Dub Colossus linked Jamaica and Ethiopia on last year’s In a Town Called Addis. If you’ve heard any of the discs from the Ethiopiques series on Buda Musique, several of which feature Astatke’s work, some of these pentatonic scale arrangements and jagged rhythms will be familiar. But that’s only part of the story. There’s strains of Fela Kuti's Afrobeat, Latin grooves, vintage analog effects, mysterious melodies, intros that go from kitschy to way cool and Far Eastern riffs, all wound around ear-grabbing piano, percussion, vibraphone, horns, strings, guitar, standup bass and rustic Ethiopian harp and flute. Most of the tracks are instrumentals carried along on currents of pure inspiration and musical ideas seemingly coming together on the spot but too perfectly realized to be arbitrary. It’s as though everyone involved knew something special would happen and just let it flow. This disc is not really a combination of old and new; it’s more an instance of the old being brilliantly expanded. -Tom Orr

Listen