Director

Haile Gerima

Cast list

Aaron Arefe - Anberber
Abiye Tedla - Tesfaye
Takelech Beyene - Tadfe
Teje Tesfahun - Azanu
Nebiyu Baye - Ayalew
Wuhib Bayu - Abdul
Arabe E. Johnston Arthur - Cassandra
Veronika Avraham - Gabi
Mengistu Zelalem - Anberber as a child

Credits

Screenplay: Haile Gerima

Crew: Philippe Avril, Karl Baumbartner, Marie-Michèlegravele Caettelain, Haile Gerima, Johannes Rexin

Synopsis

An Ethiopian man, Anberber, moves to Germany from his home country to study medicine and to escape from the poverty and political turmoil during the 1970s. When he makes his return in 1989, shortly after the fall of the Berlin Wall was making waves through international politics, Anberber is dismayed to find the country in worse sorts than he had left. Although he had returned to try and improve his community, Haile Mariam Mengistu was heading an extremely oppressive regime that leaves Anberber feeling hopeless at what he can do to help his community. Violence follows him back to his countryside home, and Anberber is left to decide if he can resist the tumult happening around him, or try to piece back together a life for himself.

Reviews

Seitz, Matt Zoller, “Lacking Shelter at Home and Abroad.” New York Times (Online)

Moloi, Vusi, “‘Teza’ Film Review.” Ethiopian Review (Online) 

Academic Articles:

Introduction: Toward a Close-Up on Teza by Greg Thomas, Black Camera, Vol. 4, No. 2 (Spring 2013), pp. 38-46

Decolonizing the Filmic Mind: An Interview with Haile Gerima by John L. Jackson, Jr. and Haile Gerima, Callaloo, Vol. 33, No. 1, ETHIOPOIA: Literature, Art & Culture (Spring 2010), pp.25-36