Film starring Ethiopian actress Kidist Siyum Beza presented at the Berlin International Film Festival in Germany

Directed by Switzerland’s Germinal Roaux, Fortuna is the story of a 14-year-old Ethiopian refugee, Kidist Siyum Beza, who has found shelter with Catholic friars in Switzerland. The International Jury at Berlin International Film Festival praised film’s “sincere performances” and “sublime black and white cinematography,” adding, “This film transcends religious and political dogma in a beautifully realized tale of purity and survival as seen through the eyes of a strong-willed Ethiopian girl.”

Fortuna, a 14-year-old Ethiopian girl, has had no news of her parents since arriving in Lampedusa, Italy. Together with other refugees, she is given shelter for the winter in a Swiss catholic hospice at an altitude of over 2000 meters. While they wait for their fate to be decided by the Swiss authorities, Fortuna meets Kabir, a 26-year-old African refugee, and falls desperately in love. Their relationship develops in secret, till the day Kabir disappears.

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Source: Africa.film, a site where you can watch the best African videos, as selected by Africa’s best filmmakers, the world’s top film festivals, and the most influential websites