Made In Ethiopia
Made In Ethiopia
dir. Max Duncan , Xinyan Yu
Canada / Ethiopia / USA / United Kingdom, 2024 - 90
When a massive Chinese industrial park lands in rural Ethiopia, a dusty farming town finds itself at the new frontier of globalisation. The sprawling factory complex's formidable Chinese director Motto now needs every bit of mettle and charm she can muster to push through a high-stakes expansion that promises 30,000 new jobs. Ethiopian farmer Workinesh and factory worker Beti have staked their futures on the prosperity the park promises. But as initial hope meets painful realities, they find themselves, like their country, at a pivotal crossroads. Filmed over four years with singular access, “Made in Ethiopia” lifts the curtain on China's historic but misunderstood impact on Africa, and explores contemporary Ethiopia at a moment of profound crisis. We watch two colliding worlds: an industrial juggernaut fuelled by profit and progress, and a vanishing countryside where life is still measured by the cycle of the seasons. As the three women's stories unfold, the film challenges us to rethink the relationship between tradition and modernity, growth and welfare, the development of a country and the well-being of its people.
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