Faya Dayi

Due to unforeseen circumstances, director Jessica Beshir is not able to attend the screening as previously announced.

Dir. Jessica Beshir. Ethiopia. 2021, 120 mins. DCP. In Amharic, Harari, and Oromiffa with English subtitles. In her hypnotic documentary feature, Ethiopian-Mexican filmmaker Jessica Beshir explores the coexistence of everyday life and its mythical undercurrents. Though a deeply personal project—Beshir was forced to leave her hometown of Harar with her family as a teenager due to growing political strife—the film she returned to make about the city, its rural Oromo community of farmers, and the harvesting of the country’s most sought-after export (the euphoria-inducing khat plant) is neither a straightforward work of nostalgia nor an issue-oriented doc about a particular drug culture. Rather, she has constructed something dreamlike: a film that uses light, texture, and sound to illuminate the spiritual lives of people whose experiences often become fodder for ripped-from-the-headlines tales of migration. A Janus Films Release.

Tickets: $15 / $11 senior and students / $9 youth (ages 3–17) / free or discounted for MoMI members ($9–$11). Order tickets. Please pick up tickets at the Museum’s admissions desk upon arrival. All seating is general admission. Review safety protocols before your visit.