Film Festivals Ethiopia

Ethiopian International Film Festival

The Ethiopian International Film Festival (ETHIOIFF) is celebrating cinema for the ten consecutive years in 2015, making it a permanent part of Addis Ababa’s cultural landscape as an annual international film festival.

The Ethiopian International Film Festival (Ethioiff) is run by Linkage Arts Resource Center annually aiming towards promoting Ethiopian as well as African film activities. Linkage Arts Resource Center is a private inventiveness non-governmental organization, which was set up for media productions, publications, festival organization and related activities in April 2000.

During a week of screenings in November, approximately 100 films- feature, shorts, fiction, documentary, animation, experimental, classics and contemporary from around the world are shown. All screenings are free and open to the public. Special emphasis is given to African cinema to create a stronger identification with and appreciation of indigenous African work. 

The Festival has been growing in power since its first appearance in 2005, and has now established an international presence and dialogue with the international film fraternity.

Focused every year on a specific theme, the festival will screen films as well as invite filmmakers to introduce their work and organize workshops and seminars on the practice and theory of film in general and new approaches and developments, in Africa in particular.

A important part of the film festival is to give awards to the best Ethiopian films of the year in 10 categories. The nominees are presented in the opening ceremony, and winners announced at the closing ceremony. These Festival Awards is considered to be the equivalent to the American Academy Award. 

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