Raging against Hollywood

Ethiopian-born, Washington DC-based director Haile Gerima was busy editing his latest documentary feature, The Children of Adwa: 40 Years Later, when he was invited to attend DIFF.

The provocative director, known for his hard-hitting films steeped in the bloody Ethiopian reality, is in surprisingly high spirits, despite knowing his latest project — which is on hold due to a lack of funds — may never be screened or even complete a circuit at a film festival.

"My journey over the last three decades can be defined as a constant struggle. It's always about the lack of finances. And even while editing this documentary, I am aware that it's going to be a long and arduous road ahead," says Gerima, 62, one of Africa's famed intellectual exports and a regular fixture at film festivals.

But this staunch indie filmmaker, known for his African perspectives on colonialism, is familiar with credit-crunch tremors. For instance, his Dubai International Film Festival pick Teza — which won the Osella for Best Screenplay and the Special Jury Award at the 65th annual Venice Film Festival — took more than 14 years to complete.

"The script and the dream idea about a displaced African intellectual was in my mind many years back. Though the shooting was completed in nine weeks, it was difficult to get a head start. But things began to roll when a German television channel agreed to auction my script on air," he says.

No time for Hollywood

His resilience and never-say-cut attitude also extends to his repeated shunning of Hollywood. Gerima labels the Western entertainment industry "buffoonery" and is vocal about his disgruntlement with Hollywood. "Frankly, I think Hollywood has no place for black cinema or for directors like me. And I don't harbour any illusions that we ever needed each other in the first place.

"If you were to ask me, Hollywood's style has become defunct and what they need urgently is some blood transfusion," he adds.

Continuing in this vein, Gerima, who has made many a festivalgoer's day with gems such as Sankofa — a tale about an African model who is transported back in time to become a slave on a plantation — feels exploitation, violence and sheer madness plague the industry. "You will never see me attempt to make a Hollywood movie. Their vision is so narrow and their commercial mindset is unpalatable.

"For instance, I can never understand how a guy can play a guitar when there's a building or, even worse, a woman burning behind him," he says.

His antagonism tones down a notch when he speaks of his visit to Dubai.

"It's my first time to [visit] Dubai and I am expecting it to be like any other film festival. But what I would love to see is some distributors jumping on board. We are still at a place where film festivals are all about exhibiting your work and meeting people," he says.

But determined to forge ahead, Gerima will soon be flying to Ethiopia to screen his movie.

"I have set up my own distribution house in Ethiopia to showcase my movie. But that's not a dampener. I have a long way to go. I want to make another 15 films before calling it a day."