Bibliograph

Faya dayi., directed, filmed, written and produced by Jessica Beshir ; a Merkhana Films production ; in association with XTR, Neon Heart Productions, Flies Collective, DVD/Widescreen

Type

Label

Faya dayi., directed, filmed, written and produced by Jessica Beshir ; a Merkhana Films production ; in association with XTR, Neon Heart Productions, Flies Collective, DVD/Widescreen

Language

amh

Characteristic

videorecording

Main title

Faya dayi.

Oclc number

1334496337

Responsibility statement

directed, filmed, written and produced by Jessica Beshir ; a Merkhana Films production ; in association with XTR, Neon Heart Productions, Flies Collective

Runtime

118

Series statement

The Criterion collection, 1141

Summary

A sublime work of personal vision, the debut feature by the Mexican Ethiopian filmmaker Jessica Beshir is a hypnotic documentary immersion in the world of Ethiopia's Oromo and Harari communities, places where one commodity khat, a euphoria-inducing plant once prized for its supposedly mystical properties holds sway over the rituals and rhythms of everyday life. As if under the influence of the drug itself, Faya Dayi unfurls as intoxicating, trance state cinema, capturing intimate moments in the existence of everyone from the harvesters of the crop to people lost in its narcotic haze to a desperate but determined younger generation searching for an escape from the region's political strife. The director's exquisite monochrome cinematography each frame a masterpiece sculpted from light and shadow and the film's time-bending, elliptical editing create a ravishing sensory experience that hovers between consciousness and dreaming

Technique

live action

resource.version

DVD/Widescreen

Classification