Faya Dayi

In collaboration with the  FNC

Ethiopia’s most lucrative cash crop is khat: a plant whose euphoria-inducing leaves are used for everything from the quest for transcendence to making the daily grind more bearable. The plant and its age-old rituals are central to this first feature from Jessica Beshir, who journeys to her father’s homeland to explore the cultural and spiritual fabric of the city of Harar. Here, khat affects the lives of nearly the entire population, some of whom yearn to leave. Shot as a stretched-out moment in time in gorgeous black and white, this kaleidoscopic portrait is a captivating sensory immersion that flickers between reality and reverie, punctuated by unforgettable human encounters.

*Sundance Film Festival 2021

*Festival du nouveau cinéma (FNC) 2021