2 Dec 2015
Director: Zeresenay Berhane Mehari
Ethiopia, USA
2014
99 min
Three hours outside Addis Ababa, a bright 14-year-old girl is on her way home from school when men on horses swoop in and kidnap her. The brave Hirut grabs a rifle and tries to escape but ends up shooting her would-be husband. In her village, the practice of abduction into marriage is common and one of Ethiopia’s oldest traditions. Meaza Ashenafi, an empowered and tenacious young lawyer, arrives from the city to represent Hirut and argue that she acted in self-defence. Meaza boldly embarks on a collision course between enforcing civil authority and abiding by customary law, risking the ongoing work of her women’s legal-aid practice to save Hirut’s life. Difret (meaning courage in Amharic) is an astonishingly accomplished feature debut from writer/director Zeresenay Mehari.