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29 Jan – 8 Feb 2026

Jessica Beshir

Jessica BESHIR is a Mexican-Ethiopian filmmaker, producer and cinematographer based in Brooklyn. She graduated in Film Studies and Literature at UCLA, after which she made several internationally acclaimed short films. The short documentary He Who Dances on Wood (2016) was selected for Hot Docs and won Best International Documentary Short at Edmonton Film Festival and the Jury Award at Anchorage International Film Festival. Hairat (2017) premiered at Sundance, was screened at IFFR and IDFA and won several awards at various other festivals. Beshir is a recipient of the Sundance Documentary Film Program, Jerome Foundation and NYFA Fellowships. Faya Dayi (2021) is her feature debut.

Filmography

He Who Dances on Wood (2016, short doc), Hairat (2017, short), Heroin (2017, short doc), Faya Dayi (2021, doc)

More info: Jessica Beshir

Jessica Beshir at IFFR

  • Faya Dayi

    Between repression and labouring on the khat plantations, Ethiopians dream of a better life. Rich impressions in poetic black and white.

  • Hairat

    At night, outside the walls of the Ethiopian city of Harar, Yussuf Mume Saleh gets together with a group of spotted hyenas.