86 minutes
Ethiopia | Italy | USA
2019
A boy caught between an ancient and a new world navigates modernization on his own terms. By becoming a lion (anbessa) he can fight back against the forces outside of his control.
World premiere at 69° Berlinale
Generations K+ Competition, Glashütte Prize Nominee
ANBESSA
Directed by Mo Scarpelli
Produced by Caitlin Mae Burke, Mo Scarpelli
Executive Producers - Danielle Perissi, Gelila Bekele
Associate Producers - D.D. Wigley, Pierce Varous
Director of Photography - Mo Scarpelli
Editors - Nico Leunen, Thomas Pooters
Music - Erik K Skodvin
A Rake Films production
in association with Moby Group
with support of Studio Say So and Nice Dissolve NY
Additional support from Catapult Film Fund, IDFA Forum, IDFA Academy, True/False + Catapult Rough Cut Retreat, IFP, Mountainfilm Telluride
Distribution with ARTE (France), ZDF (Germany), MUBI.com, Torch Films
PRESS
"A masterful work of sensory ethnography."
— Film Stage
"Visually arresting... incredibly fascinating
and absolutely worth watching."
— Film Threat
"Eloquent... a tender portrait"
— Sight & Sound
"ANBESSA does not play tricks...
beautiful, humorous and thought-provoking."
— Little Village
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
"Hope and despair intermingle in a profoundly cinematic mix."
— Hammer To Nail
** One of Filmmaker Magazine's Most Anticipated Films of 2019
** One of Vox.com's 16 Great Documentaries of 2019
FESTIVALS, SCREENINGS & AWARDS
69° Berlinale International Film Festival
Generations Competition Selection
Nominated for the Glashütte Documentary Prize
IDFA 2019
Kids & Docs Competition Selection
40° Durban International Film Festival
Awarded Special Mention for Best Documentary
Hot Docs Canadian International Film Festival
World Cinema Selection
Rooftop Films
DOC NYC
22° Thessaloniki Documentary Festival
Human Rights Watch Film Festival London
Olafur Eliasson Studios
special screening in the artist's studio in Berlin
MiradasDoc
Awarded El Mirador Award for Best Documentary Feature
21° Olympia Intl Film Festival for Children & Youth
Awarded ECFA Award for Best Documentary
Sole Luna Doc Fest
Awarded Best Cinematography Prize
MountainFilm Telluride
Awarded Best Director Award
Awarded Honorary Mention for Best Documentary Feature
Festival Internacional de Cine de Cartagena de Indias (FICCI)
Opening Night Film
Social Impact Media Awards (SIMA) 2019
Awarded Best Cinematography Prize
RiverRun Intl Film Festival
Awarded Special Mention for Best Documentary Feature
Afrikaldia Film Festival (Basque Country, Spain)
Awarded Special Mention for Best Feature Documentary
Fabrique du Cinéma Awards 2020
Nominated for Best International Documentary
Copenhagen Architecture Festival
Opening Night screening for the 2019 C40 World Mayor's Summit
Addis Ababa International Film Festival
Opening Night Film
Ethiopia Film Week London
Opening Night Film
UNICEF Innocenti Film Festival - Italy
Opening Night Film
Woods Hole Film Festival - USA
Awarded Runner-Up for Best Documentary Feature
19° Rome Independent Film Festival
Stockfish Film Festival
This Human World Film Festival
16° Les Mois du Film Documentaire - Paris
Docudays Ukraine
Busan International Children & Youth Festival
Maryland Film Festival
Santa Fe Independent Film Festival
Cleveland International Film Festival
Heartland Film Festival
Ljubljana International Film Festival
Nairobi Film Festival - Kenya
Cucalorus Film Festival - USA
San Francisco IndieFest
Pripovedovalski Festival - Slovenia
Take One Action Film Festival - Scotland
Arquiteturas Film Festival - Lisbon
Mi Primer Festival - Peru
Bahamas Film Festival
New Hampshire Film Festival - USA
FlyWay Film Festival - USA
Tumbleweed Film Festival - USA
DC Environmental Film Festival - USA
Ashland Independent Film Festival - USA
Port Townsend Film Festival - USA
Gimli Film Festival - Canada
Moab Film Festival - USA
International Children's Film Festival Bangladesh
DOCUTAH - USA
Northwest Film Forum By Design Festival - Seattle, USA
The Other Cinema series - London
FilmScene - Iowa City, USA
Art of Buna - Cologne, Germany
Doctober at the Pickford Film Centre - Seattle, USA
UCLA Luskin School & African Studies Center
CineCulture at Fresno State University
THE SOUNDTRACK
Erik K Skodvin's first solo film score evokes other-wordly
dreamscapes that capture the atmosphere of the film.
Available digitally and on vinyl from Miasmah.
CONTRIBUTE TO ASALIF
CONTRIBUTE TO ASALIF
Asalif, the young protagonist of this film, is a genius.
If you want to contribute to him and his future, you can. Any money sent to the PayPal account below is wired to Asalif's bank account in Ethiopia. Thank you.