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•• Foreign Film Edition ••
DIFRET (OBLIVION)
[2014, ETHIOPIA - Amharic]

As painfully misogynistic as it sounds, "Bride Kidnapping" actually exists, in several parts of the world including several countries within Central Asia, Causasus and Africa. It basically means abduction of a woman by a man (usually with the help of relatives) for the purpose of marriage. This absurdity is embraced by some communities in the southern region of Ethiopia, known as "telefa", and one particular girl's harrowing real life experience not only inspired the 2014 film Difret, but became a landmark case that changed an age-old law in the country.

Aberash Berkele was only fourteen when she was abducted by a group of men on horses while she was returning home from school. Captured and beaten, she was brought to a hut to be raped by one of them, and told that he would be her husband. Berkele managed to steal their gun as she attempted to run away. Whilst her abductor and his men gave chase, she pulled the trigger and was put on trial for the murder of her abductor. This plundering of innocence and humanity has been translated into the silver screens by producer Mehret Mandefro and writer-director Zeresenay Berhane Mehari, with Angelina Jolie signing on as the executive producer with the hope to raise awareness on telefa.

In Difret, we see Hirut Assefa (Tizita Hagere) as the bright fourteen year-old daughter of poor farmers in rural Ethiopia, who has ambitions in her pursuit of an education, which is uncommon for girls in those parts. The trajectory of Difret and Hirut's fate pretty much follow closely of the real story, and soon the family of the demised abductor Tadele (Girma Teshome) is racking up support from the villagers to have her executed for murder, and buried with him. Succumbing to her wretched fate, hope finds its way when Hirut is rescued by Meaza Ashenafi (Meron Getnet), a lawyer helming Andinet Women Lawyers Association, advocating for women’s rights. 

This is a case where the gravity of injustice outweighs the film's narrative. Mehari chooses to "tell" in great lengths as compared to "show", giving the film a semi docudrama appeal instead of allowing more expressive interpretations of the plot. I would have preferred the latter. No doubt at several junctures the narrative does come off slightly punctuated, but all in all an adequate film. Audience will still be able to appreciate Difret's message, and I particularly liked the development of Meaza and Hirut's bond.

Today, Berkele is a mother of a ten year-old son, and works for Harmee, an NGO that aims to eliminate violence against women in Arsii. Her high profiled case managed to make an immediate impact, reducing the abduction cases in Arsii to none for five good years. Sadly, the cases are crawling back to a reported seven to eight cases annually in the past recent years. Meaza on the other hand continues with her devotion in protecting the rights of Ethiopian women and was nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize in 2005. Difret has won in Sundance, Montreal, Amsterdam and Berlin film festivals.

Rating: B+

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