By Filip Hruby

Ethiopian movies Teza (Haile Gerima), Atletu (Rasselas Lakew, Davey Frankel) and LEZARE (Zelalem Woldemariam) won the main awards at 7th African Film Festival in Tarifa (FCAT). Teza won the award “Wind Griot” for the best feature film. The award is worth 15.000€ and includes the trophy. Atletu won The Audience Special Award for the best feature film. The award is worth 5.000€ and includes the trophy. The award is granted according the votes, viewers were giving to the movies after projections. LEZARE won the award for The best short film. The award is worth 2.000€ and includes the trophy.

A mixture of fiction and stock footage, The Athlete is a portrait of the legendary marathoner from Ethiopia, Abebe Bikila. Set in Ethiopia and Germany, Teza examines the displacement of African intellectuals, both at home and abroad, through the story of a young, idealistic Ethiopian doctor, Anberber, from the 70s until nowadays. Lezare tells the story of a small homeless boy, Abush, who wakes up hungry early in the morning in a small village…

The FCAT, one of the biggest African film festivals in Europe, had its seventh edition between May 21th and May 29th in Tarifa, the closest Spanish town to Africa on the Andalusian coasts of the Strait of Gibraltar (www.fcat.es). This year the FCAT presented 113 movies from 36 countries, which competed for €48,500 in prize money through 8 different awards.

(Filip Hruby is International press officer of Festival de Cine Africano de Tarifa (FCAT), Ed. Santa Catalina
C/ Alcalde Juan Nuñez, 10 bajo, 11380 Tarifa, España. He can be reached at Tel. +34/956.684847; Móvil: +421/775011550; Email: [email protected])