Presented by Bread Garden Market, Little Village, and FilmScene

DIALOGUE: Director Mo Scarpelli in person
Sunday, July 14, 7pm

Our fourth season continues with our first selection filmed in Africa. Director Mo Scarpeelli's creative exploration of a 10-year-old boy—"a young lion"—coming of age in a quickly changing Ethiopia.

The Vino Vérité series features talented new voices and established filmmakers influenced by the vérité tradition in person to present their thought-provoking, chance-taking, and visually-arresting films. Each selection is paired with hand-selected wines from Bread Garden Market.

Tickets: $25 public / $20 for members. Includes wine tasting, film, hors d'oeuvres and filmmaker reception.

6:30 Hors d'oeuvres & wine tasting 
7:00 Theater open for seating 
7:15 Screening 
8:30 Q&A + Reception with filmmaker, wine and dessert

ABOUT ANBESSA

"Entitled Anbessa, which means “lion” in Amharic, the movie is also a testament to the universality of human experience, as Asalif roams the nearby hills, like any boy his age might do, imagining himself the king of the beasts and master of his tiny domain. He may not have much, but what he has is of his own making." — Hammer to Nail

The biggest condominium complex in East Africa, on the outskirts of Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, promises thousands of people a better way of life. It’s being constructed, however, on the farmland of 10-year-old Asalif and his mother, leaving them just a tool shed with no electricity or running water. Anbessa is a lyrical documentary that takes us on a journey of childhood adventures and magical realism as we accompany a creative, sensitive and bold young boy using his imagination and sharp wits to battle forces beyond his control, and escape the stark reality of displacement. Meanwhile, the city is growing around them and new property developers are knocking at their door.

"Scarpelli’s poetic documentary style eloquently captures the creative flair of a young child’s imagination. Scarpelli takes every opportunity to exercise wonder as a director too, with an endless fascination for the worlds she encounters." — Sight & Sound

"The precocious Asalif is truly a star in this film."— POV Magazine

ABOUT THE DIRECTOR

Mo Scarpelli is an Italian-American director and cinematographer of nonfiction cinema. Her debut feature-length documentary Frame by Frame screened at SXSW 2015, Hot Docs (Audience Top Ten), BFI London Film Festival and 100+ other festivals, garnering 15+ jury and audience awards as well as a Cinema Eye Honors nomination. Mo is a selection of Berlinale Talents 2018, twice a recipient of Catapult Film Fund support, and has received the Speranza Female Filmmaker Award. Her documentary short work includes directing El Hara (NYJFF 2018) and Surviving Kensington (Vimeo Staff Pick 2017), and serving as cinematographer on films including Speaking is Difficult (Sundance 2016).

Berlinale (2019) — World Premiere
Hot Docs (2019) — International Premiere
Human Rights Watch Film Festival (2019) — Official Selection
Mountainfilm (2019) — Best Director Award