The movie premiere for the film, Ethiopia, Staring Into the Sun put out by Seattle’s Sublime Frequencies was shown at Portland’s latest hipster hangout, The Woods on June 10th. The film by Olivia Wyatt documents her visits with 13 different tribes in Ethiopia. Olivia also documented her trip in Polaroids, on view here. The film captures the music and dance of each tribe, and provides no background information, translations, or themes. It simply gives the viewer a glimpse into the lives of these highly diverse people through dance, music and dress. This leaves you to draw your conclusions about the culture based off the visuals. You can tell which cultures are more egalitarian, more religious, more prosperous, and more modern. It was amazing how different these cultures are despite their shared geography. While the tribes’s hardships are sometimes obvious, their passion for music, elaborate dress, decoration, and fervor of dance is truly inspirational.
I think we could all use a little head-shaking, body-painting, drum-beating fun every once in a while.
