Indigenous Oromo Movies during a Time of Political Crisis in Ethiopia

Monday, Oct 30 2017, 7:00 PM - 8:30 PM, CAPA Symposium
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Foreign Language Series—Fall 2017
Monday, Oct 30 2017 7:00 PM Monday, Oct 30 2017 8:30 PM America/New_York Indigenous Oromo Movies during a Time of Political Crisis in Ethiopia OPEN TO THE PUBLIC | Professors Teferi Niggusie Tafa and Steven W. Thomas will describe their work and their experiences researching indigenous Oromo filmmaking in Ethiopia. CAPA Symposium Bennington College

OPEN TO THE PUBLIC | Teferi and Steve have coauthored the very first scholarly essay on Oromo film that will be published within a book that will be the first scholarly book ever published on Ethiopian cinema. Their essay emphasizes the importance of an indigenous form of Oromo democracy known as the Gada system for Oromo filmmakers, and also compares movies made both by Oromos inside Ethiopia and Oromos living in the Diaspora who adapt their traditions to the immigrant experience here in America. As part of their presentation, they will show two short films “Qanafaa” and “Gumaa” (each about 8 minutes long) and explain how these artistic fictional films express the Oromo values of Gada democracy.