Three hours outside of Addis Adaba, a 14-year old girl called Hirut (Tizita Hagere) makes her way home from school when, all of a sudden, men on horseback swoop in and kidnap her. The courageous young girl takes hold of a rifle as she attempts to escape, which results only in her would-be husband getting shot.
Meaza Ashenafi (Meron Getnet), an ambitious young lawyer from the city arrives in to argue her case, exclaiming that she acted in defence. The fearless Meaza sets about entering a world of conflict between civil authority and customary law, whilst putting the work of her women’s legal-aid practice at risk in order to protect the life of Hirut.
Difret is a true story, that dives into the layer of polite social customs to expose a deeply set patriarchal system, which promotes hostile conditions for women in Ethiopia. At the same time, Zeresenay Mehari shows the complexities of a country edging towards equal rights; and the lengths individuals will go to, to achieve it.
The filmmaker’s accomplished means of storytelling is vital in regards to the rape scene, which is handled tastefully with cut away shots, not dissimilar to those used in the film Don’t Look Now, where the use of innovative editing styles are employed, with recurring motifs and themes; flashbacks and flash-forwards; some scenes even intercut or merge into the other to alter the viewer’s perception of what’s really happening. An impressionistic approach one might say, in order to create imagery, where events presage with familiar objects, patterns and colours, at the same time that associative editing techniques are used.
In court, all eyes are on the victim; and as the subject of rape is broached, minimalistic images are projected onto the scene, almost as if we were inside the head of the victim. For example, the backs of the rapist’s limbs, which despite being suggestive are subtle, and do not allow for much to be given away.
Meaza’s leadership and administration of the Ethiopian Women’s Lawyer’s Association is the basis of the film Difret, and is the reason she has received several international human rights awards including the Hunger Prize, known also as the African Nobel Laureate, for her work defending vulnerable women and children in Ethiopia.
This is an affecting drama, with relevant parallels drawn to Nigerian novelist Chinua Achebe’s novel ‘Things Fall Apart’, but this stands up on it’s own right. Ethiopian cinema is popular on home soil, and hopefully films such as Difret will go some way in meaning it is picked up even more – there and throughout the globe.
