Alazar

Efie Gallery and Bootleg Griot present a monthly film programme in the Rekord Gallery tracing the intertwined histories of African and Arab liberation cinema. Through a carefully considered selection of films, the series reflects on how sound and image have shaped political consciousness, cultural memory, and diasporic imagination across continents.

Alazar (2024 · Directed by Beza Hailu Lemma)

About the film

Set in a town ravaged by drought, Alazar centres on Tessema, a young man drawn into a mystery that begins with the apparent resurrection of a child. As famine deepens and uncertainty takes hold, the film unfolds as a meditation on the tensions between faith, folklore, and the material realities of the natural world.

With remarkable restraint and visual clarity, Lemma's debut feature explores the metaphysical questions that emerge in moments of crisis: whether suffering is divine punishment, whether nature demands reciprocity, and whether objective truth can ever be found amid competing systems of belief.

Through its haunting landscapes and deeply felt performances, Alazar becomes both a portrait of a community in decline and a poignant reflection on humanity's enduring search for meaning.