Zeresenay Berhane Mehari

🎞️ Meet our panelists for ‘Kibir’, an International Women’s Day Film Festival organized by the UNFPA on March 8 at Videobet Cinema! Justice Meaza Ashenafi (protagonist of the narrative feature film Difret), Zeresenay Berhane Mehari (Director of the feature film Difret), Bethelihem Birhane (screenwriter and producer of the feature film Hidote), Samuel Teshager (writer, producer, and director of the feature film Hidote). Free entry, but RSVP is mandatory to secure your seat. When: Sunday, March 8, 2026 Time: 01:00 PM - 07:00 PM Location: Videobet Cinema Entry: Free with RSVP (Limited Capacity) Brought to you with generous support of UNFPA jointly with Canada, Sweden, Spain and Denmark.

Award-winning Ethiopian filmmaker, writer and director Zeresenay Berhane Mehari is the lead artist for the second AFMAC workshop, hosted this week in Tangier by artist Yto Barrada and the storied Cinémathèque de Tanger. 🇲🇦🎥 Mehari’s work is celebrated globally for its compelling narratives and deep cultural resonance. He is the director of two critically acclaimed feature films as well as being the co-founder of Ethiopia’s popular Kana Television. Mehari is currently co-founder and Head of Production of A51 Pictures, an independent film production company based in Addis Ababa. His films consistently highlight stories with a strong social impact, often focusing on real events that feature women who pursue truth in the face of adversity. Tomorrow, July 24, Cinémathèque de Tanger will screen Mehari’s 2014 film ‘Difret’, winner of the audience award at the Sundance Film Festival and Berlin Film Festival. The screening is free and open to the public. @bmwgroupculture @zbmehari @drmehret @juliemehretu @cinemathequedetanger @ytobarrada

DEADLINE EXTENDED Call for African Filmmakers & Media Artists Apply now for a 5-day workshop in Tangier with acclaimed director Zeresenay Berhane Mehari, hosted by Cinémathèque de Tanger & AFMAC (African film and Media Art Collective). 📅 Workshop Dates: July 23–27, 2025 📌 Location: Cinémathèque de Tanger 🗓 Deadline Extension : July 5, 2025 10 selected participants will explore storytelling, local production, and global distribution, plus take part in virtual sessions after the workshop. Open to emerging African filmmakers, media artists, and producers eager to collaborate and experiment. 📩 Apply now: send your statement, CV & portfolio to [email protected] Appel à participation aux Cinéastes & artistes média africain·es ! Participez à un atelier intensif de 5 jours animé par le réalisateur Zeresenay Berhane Mehari, à la Cinémathèque de Tanger, en partenariat avec AFMAC (African film and Media Art Collective). 📅 Dates de l’atelier : du 23 au 27 juillet 2025 📌 Lieu : Cinémathèque de Tanger 🗓 Date limite de candidature prolongée : 5 juillet 2025 10 participant·es seront sélectionné·es pour explorer l’écriture de scénario, la production locale, la distribution internationale, et plus encore. Des sessions virtuelles suivront l’atelier. Candidature ouverte aux jeunes cinéastes, artistes des médias et producteur·ices africain·es engagé·es dans des pratiques collaboratives et expérimentales. 📩 Pour postuler : envoyez une lettre de motivation, un CV et un portfolio à [email protected] دعوة للمشاركة للمخرجين والفنانين الإعلاميين من إفريقيا شاركوا في ورشة عمل مكثفة لمدة 5 أيام مع المخرج الشهير زاريسناي برهان مهاري في سينماتيك طنجة بالتعاون مع AFMAC (African film and Media Art Collective). 📅 تاريخ الورشة: من 23 إلى 27 يوليوز 2025 📌 المكان: سينماتيك طنجة 🗓 آخر أجل للتقديم: 05 يوليوز 2025 سيتم اختيار 10 مشاركين للعمل على كتابة السيناريو والإنتاج المحلي والتوزيع العالمي، تليها جلسات افتراضية لاحقًا مفتوح لصانعي الأفلام والفنانين والمنتجين من إفريقيا الذين يرغبون في التجريب والتعاون [email protected] أرسلوا طلباتكم (نص تعريفي، سيرة ذاتية، وملف أعمال) إلى

⚠️‼️⚠️‼️SCAM ALERT! አደራ ተጠንቀቁ! የዉሸት ማስታወቂያ አዉጥተዉ በኔ ስም ለተከታታይ ፊልም አክተሮች እንፈልጋለን እያሉ የካስቲንግ ጥሪ እያደረጉ ነው። እኔ በአሁኑ ሰአት ምንም አይነት ካስቲንግ እያደረኩ አይደለም። እባካችሁ ለሁሉም ሰዉ ሼር በማድረግ አስጠንቅቁዋቸዉ። ይሄንን ወንጀል እየፈፀሙ ካሉት ሰዋች ዉስጥ የ አንድ ሰዉ ስምና ፎቶ አግኝተን ለፖሊስ አስተላልፈናል። አመሰግናለዉ፣ ዘረሰናይ። Someone in Ethiopia is impersonating me - Zeresenay Berhane Mehari @zbmehari  by holding a FAKE CASTING CALL with my wife’s production company Truth Aid Media. Please know this is a scam. It’s all illegal. We have reported it to the authorities. Please help us get the word out by sharing this video and reposting. I posted the fake casting call in this video so watch the whole thing. Stay safe. . . #scamalert #scam #fakecastingcall #ethiopia

⚠️‼️⚠️‼️SCAM ALERT! Someone in Ethiopia is impersonating my husband writer/director Zeresenay Berhane Mehari @zbmehari by holding a FAKE CASTING CALL with my production company Truth Aid Media. Please know this is a scam. It’s all illegal. We have reported it to the authorities. Please helps us get the word out by sharing this video and reposting. I posted the fake casting call at the end of the video. Stay safe y’all. . #scamalert #scam #fakecastingcall #ethiopia

Zeresenay “Zee” Berhane Mehari @zbmehari is an award winning writer/director born and raised in Ethiopia. Zee moved to the U.S. to attend film school and founded Haile - Addis Pictures to produce his first narrative feature film, Difret (2014), which was Executive Produced by Angelina Jolie @angelinajolie and produced by @drmehret . The film won Audience Awards at both the Sundance and Berlin International Film Festivals. His next feature film, Sweetness in the Belly, based on the international best-selling novel of the same name by Camilla Gibb set during the Ethiopian revolution in the 1970s, was a Canadian-Irish co production starring Dakota Fanning and Yahya Abdul-Mateen and had its world premiere at the 2019 Toronto International Film Festival. The film was distributed by Entertainment One and Gravitas Ventures. and was the first feature film helmed by an African director financed by Canada’s public Telefilms fund. Zee was most recently co-founder and Head of Original Content for Kana Television @kanatelevision , the popular free-to-air, private satellite entertainment TV channel in Ethiopia which was recently acquired by Canal Plus. Zee is currently Head of Production and a co-founder of A51 Pictures, an independent film production company based in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. He is currently developing a slate of films for the local and international market. He has a Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Southern California’s School of Cinematic Arts. #habeshafilmassociation #difret #habesha #africancinema

In DIFRET, a 14-year-old girl fights for justice after defending herself against telefa, the practice of abduction for forced marriage. DIFRET, directed by Zeresenay Mehari @zbmehari , is a powerful drama based on a true story, shedding light on the clash between tradition and law in Ethiopia. • • Executive-produced by @angelinajolie , Co-produced by @drmehret and featuring Meron Getnet, the film won the World Cinema Dramatic Audience Award at Sundance and continues to spark global conversations on women’s rights. • • Zeresenay Berhane Mehari is an Ethiopian filmmaker committed to telling socially impactful stories. A graduate of USC’s School of Cinematic Arts, he is known for bringing underrepresented narratives to the forefront. DIFRET has been internationally acclaimed for its bold storytelling and advocacy for change. • • Saturday, March 8 📍 Zephyr Theatre, Los Angeles ⏰ 2:00 PM – 6:00 PM PST 🎟RSVP link in bio • • Join us as we celebrate five years of the Habesha Film Association with this groundbreaking film. #difret #habeshafilmassociation #african #cinema