Addis Ababa theater and cinema management is about to start producing films

Cinema is one of the key arts that promote a nation’s identity and values. In some countries, it contributes to economic growth as a source of high income. American Hollywood is a prime example of this.
While Ethiopia was one of the first countries to produce films in Africa, the Ethiopian Film Corporation was established during Derg’s time and films were produced. However, it was the disappointment of many that the institution failed due to the political tension and the lack of a suitable conceptual framework at the time.
The cinema sector is mostly limited to the efforts of individuals, plagued by many problems and separated from the world’s cinema culture, so the development of our country’s cinema could not show a rapid change as a country that started film production before Africa.
Meanwhile, encouraging news that could help and set direction for the film industry was heard from the management of Addis Ababa theaters and cinemas.
Public relations head of the administration, Mr. Manyazewal Getachew, said in an interview with Hagerie Television, “It has been almost two years since the Addis Ababa Theater and Cinemas Administration was established by decree, and now the institutions have been working together to go beyond the provision of art shows and move directly to film production.”
According to this, the cinemas will not only show films but also become producers themselves. In order to achieve this task, they have been set up in a partially private partnership based organization.
According to this plan, the government will provide budget subsidies, and the cinemas will become independent film producers by increasing their entrepreneurship and income generation capacity.
In addition to this, a cinema with modern technologies, such as “Zemen Cinema” in our country, has recently been built in front of the National Theater, and the modern children’s and youth theater built by Flamingo is also a part of this overall step.