Difret


Difret is a 2014 Ethiopian drama film written and directed by Zeresenay Berhane Mehari. The film had its premiere incompetition at the 2014 Sundance Film Festival where it won the World Cinematic Dramatic Audience Award. Angelina Jolie served as the executive producer of the film.

The film chronicles a legalprecedent setting court case that outlawed the kidnapping of child brides in Ethiopia. It tells the story of a 14yearold girl, Hirut Assefa based on Aberash Bekele, who is kidnapped on her way home from school and subsequently grabs a rifle and tries to escape, but ends up shooting her wouldbe husband. In her village, the practice of abduction into marriage is common and one of Ethiopias oldest traditions. Meaza Ashenafi, the founder of the Ethiopian Women Lawyers Association, arrives from the city to have her team represent Hirut and argue that she acted in self defence.The alleged controversy stems from an effort to discredit the work of the human rights lawyer Meaza Ashenafi. The film was initially banned in September for allegedly giving too much credit to Meaza but the claim was not valid and the ban was lifted. The film subsequently enjoyed a successful theatrical run in Ethiopia and kicked off its educational outreach efforts that are focused on raising awareness about the issue of child marriage. Unfortunately a second lawsuit has been filed to yet again discredit Meaza Ashenafis contribution to the case despite her role as the Founder and Executive Director of the legal aid organization Ethiopian Women Lawyers Association which was responsible for the case chronicled in Difret. Meaza employed all the EWLA lawyers working on this case, including Etagegnehu Lemessa, and was the chief strategist. Meazas leadership and administration of EWLA during this time is the basis for the film Difret and is also the reason she has received several international human rights awards including the Hunger Prize, also known as the African Nobel Laureate, for her work defending vulnerable women and children in Ethiopia. ........

Source: Wikipedia


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