In 'Made in Ethiopia', directors Xinyan Yu and Max Duncan tackle the macro issue of China's influence in Africa and its impact on a small number of Chinese and Ethiopian individuals striving for a better life. is presented provocatively through a microscopic lens. The film is set in a Chinese industrial complex located in Duquem, a small town southeast of Addis Ababa, the capital of Ethiopia. The film follows an ambitious Chinese businessman who seeks to expand his complex with the help of Ethiopian officials, and the impact this expansion has on the factory workers and farmers living nearby.
The businessman said, “The industrial complex is a tourist attraction. “We are considering selling tickets,” he said. She makes up lies, believes them, and exaggerates them. Moto (the film refers to everything by name only) is charming and cunning, and is the type of person who sings for company even though he has no talent. At one point she turned to her camera and declared, “I starved myself for two days to fit this dress.” She is willing to seduce, threaten, and push anyone to get what she wants. She thinks she understands what Ethiopians need, but she is all arrogant. All of this makes her the perfect subject for her documentary.
Motto is so loud and colorful that it overwhelms the Ethiopian characters. The contrasting moto is Betelihem “Beti” Ashenafi, a quiet factory worker with humble dreams. Motto claims that her work will enable Ethiopians to realize their dreams for the rest of their lives. This is impossible without the expansion of the industrial complex. But in Beti we can see how wrong and absurd such claims are. Despite her hard work and efforts to elevate herself, she is trapped in an endless cycle of frustrated aspirations. However, Beti's story is an afterthought as Motto dominates most of the film.
Providing a more powerful counterpoint to Motto is Workinesh Chala and her family. They are farmers whose land was taken away by the government for the expansion of Chinese industrial complexes. They were promised replacement land, which they never received. As 'Made in Ethiopia' opens, Walkinesh and her young daughter Rehoboth provide one of the film's most memorable scenes. As Rehoboth explains the source of her mother’s resilience, “Made in Ethiopia” clearly shows the Ethiopian side of this complex conundrum. Through this family's story, the film finally shows how cultural differences and power imbalances can sabotage even the most generous intentions.
<메이드 인 에티오피아>On the surface, it is a film about conflict and conflict, but in that respect it is not disappointing. In fact, this work shows a narrative scene in which some Ethiopian factory workers rebel against poor working conditions. The scene deepens as we focus on Lee Dae, the factory translator who mediates between workers and supervisors. Centered around Edae, the story shifts from a straightforward David and Goliath tale with clear heroes and villains to a complex morality tale of ever-changing priorities and loyalties.
The movie contains many provocative images. Showing the wedding of a Chinese man and an Ethiopian woman, the camera shows the bride's parents a stash of cash on a silver tray. The filmmaker also shows Betty and her friends feeding each other, and farmers praying for rain under a giant tree. Since this is the tradition and custom of the Ethiopian people, by juxtaposing it with Western perspectives, the film ends up exoticizing the people it claims to depict realistically.
Despite the imbalance in perspective, “Made in Ethiopian” presents a compelling story about how Chinese influence in Ethiopia affects both foreigners and natives. The camera explores patiently and the story is successfully woven into a political and social context. This film, which premiered at the Tribeca Film Festival, should be able to start many conversations about these topical issues.