25-year-old Fisehatsion Nibret from Ethiopia dreams of being a cinematographer among the likes of the great Roger Deakins, Gregg Toland and Vittorio Storaro. He is well on his way, as he studied Video and Photography at the Tom Videography and Photography Training Center in his hometown of Addis Ababa and already works as a filmmaker.
Fisehatsion enjoys reading Moviemakers’ Master Class penned by Laurent Tirard. “The book talks about various filmmakers’ experiences and teaches the many ways there are to make a good film. There is no right path.
It shows that one filmmaker’s style may not work for another and in this manner helps filmmakers find their own way.” This is also why he is very excited about networking with fellow filmmakers from the region.
Some of his favourite movies have been directed by Roberto Benigni, Quentin Tarantino and Christopher Nolan, but his greatest inspiration is Ethiopian filmmaker Professor Haile Gerima, who lives and works in the United States. “Haile’s view of the cinema is particularly important at this time,” he explains. “He opposes the conventions” and rejects cultural imperialism using through cinema.
Fisehatsion is also passionate about information technology and hopes that the skills he has learned from IT will enrich the process of making a mini TV series. “We make movies to tell a story,” he says. “I want to narrate African myths through modern storytelling techniques. I am convinced that our amazing stories can make the world addicted to African stories.”