FAYA DAYI

Jessica Beshir
Ethiopia , USA, Quatar 2021, 120 minutes, black and white
Documentary  film
Amharic with English subtitles

FRIDAY 25. OCTOBER 2024 | 15H30

MOVIE 2 | MOVIEMENTO

Ethiopian legend has it that khat was found by Sufi Imams in search of eternity. Inspired by this myth, Faya Dayi is a spiritual journey into the highlands of Harar immersed in the rituals of khat, a stimulant green leaf that for centuries Sufi Muslims chewed for religious meditations and has become Ethiopia’s most lucrative cash crop today. Through the prism of the khat trade, Faya Dayi weaves a tapestry of intimate stories of people caught between violent government repression, khat-induced fantasies and treacherous journeys beyond their borders, and offers a window into the dreams of the youth hunted by a repressive regime.

Jessica Beshir is a Mexican-Ethiopian writer, director, producer and cinematographer based in Brooklyn. Her feature debut, Faya Dayi, premiered at the 2021 Sundance Film Festival and has screened around the world including at the Rotterdam Film Festival, New Directors/New Films, Camerimage and Hot Docs to name a few. Faya Dayi won the Grand Jury Prize & Fipresci Award at Visions du Reel, the Grand Jury Award at Full Frame Film Festival, the Cinematography Award at DOC NYC among others. Faya dayi garnered nominations from the Gotham Awards, IDA Awards, Cinema Eye Honors, ASC awards and won the 2022 Truer Than Fiction Award at the Independent Spirit Awards. Her early short films, Hairat, He Who Dances on Wood and Heroin have played in festivals and museums including at IDFA, Kurzfilmtage Winterthur, Eye Film Museum & MoMI. Beshir has been honored with grant support from the Sundance Film Institute, the Doha Film Institute and the Jerome Foundation.

Filmstill © Faya Dayi