FAYA DAYI

In Harar, in eastern Ethiopia, khat is grown, harvested, bundled and chewed. The leaf, whose effects Sufis have used for their devotions for centuries, has become the region’s most important source of income – and a means of enduring daily life. Jessica Beshir’s documentary “Faya Dayi”, Ethiopia/USA 2021, follows the farmers and traders, the chewers and the young people who speak of leaving: of crossing borders in flight, of a better life elsewhere. Between the images are voices from off-screen, legends and memories, and the government’s repression is present throughout, like a shadow.

Beshir, who grew up in Harar, shot the film over more than ten years with minimal equipment and no funding, having to travel back at her own expense every year. Begun as an approach to her grandmother, it became a black-and-white poem that does not separate document from dream. It premiered at the Sundance Film Festival in January 2021; in the United States, Janus Films brought it to cinemas. “Faya Dayi” was shown at Around the World in 14 Films in Berlin in 2021.

Shown at the 2021 edition of Around the World in 14 Films.

All films 2021 · Film Archive