The young Ephraim is left to his own devices, even though he is still almost a child. His father left him behind with relatives to go and seek his fortune elsewhere. Ephaim’s biggest friend is his sheep: he is inseparable from the animal. One day his uncle tells him that the sheep has to be slaughtered for a religious sacrifice. Ephraim, who can’t do much apart from cook well, does everything he can not to lose his sheep.
Without the film being strictly autobiographical, the filmmaker bases the characters and mood on his own childhood memories. And just like Ephraim he enjoyed being in the kitchen. Life was hard in those years – years of dictatorship and starvation – yet it was possible to have a fairly happy childhood.
The film was screened during the last Cannes festival in the Un Certain Regard section and was hence also the first Ethiopian film invited by the prestigious festival.
Film details
- Countries of production
- Ethiopia, France, Germany, Norway, Qatar
- Year
- 2015
- Festival edition
- IFFR 2016
- Length
- 94"
- Medium/Format
- DCP
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