Ethiopian Film Lamb Makes The First Cannes Official Selection

Posted: May, 7th 2015 Contributor: Bilen Shifferaw,

Lamb” New Movie From Ethiopia by Yared Zeleke Official Selection at Cannes 2015

LAMB - A film by Yared Zeleke - 2015 - Ethiopia-France-Germany-Norway - Drama (Amharic)

Ethiopian filmmaker Yared Zeleke's coming-of-age drama "Lamb," marks the very first time in Cannes Film Festival history that an Ethiopian film has been an "Official Selection,".

The Ethiopian film industry is rich within the country however, internationally-known filmmakers are dominated by filmmakers such as Haile Gerima, Yemane Demissie and Teshome Kebede Theodros.

Yared is one of many young Ethiopian Film Makers placing their mark on the global film industry, others include such as Yidnekachew Shumete ("Nishan") and Zeresenay Mehari ("Difret").

The film Lamb is produced by Slum Kid Films, an Ethiopia-based film production company co-founded by Ama Ampadu, which aims to discover and nurture emerging talent in Ethiopia, as well as to support the development of Ethiopian filmmaking.

"Lamb" tells the tale of nine-year-old Ephraim and his constant companion, a sheep named Chuni. Ephraim’s affection for Chuni deepen after he loses his mother to famine. Consequently, his beloved father sends him and Chuni far away from their drought-stricken homeland, to live with distant relatives in a greener part of the country. Ephraim soon becomes a homesick outcast who is always getting into trouble. When his uncle orders him to slaughter Chuni for the upcoming holiday feast, Ephraim devises a devious scheme to save the sheep and return to his father's home.

Director Yared Zeleke has an MFA in Writing and Directing from NYU. He has written, produced, directed and edited several short documentary and fiction films.

"Lamb" has been selected to screen in the Un Certain Regard sidebar of the 2015 Cannes festival - a program created to recognize young, promising talent and to encourage innovative and daring storytelling on film. At the end of the festival, one of the films from the category will be honored with a grant to aid in its distribution in France.

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