IANS

Did you know that Indian cinema has a large fan following in Ethiopia? At the Indian film week underway here, leading Ethiopian filmmakers found themselves recalling their favourite Bollywood movies and calling for closer cooperation with the Indian film industry.

At a symposium "Cinema Now: Here and There", organised by the Indian embassy in association with the ministries of culture, tourism, trade and industry of Ethiopia and the city of Addis Ababa, many film personalities suggested enhanced cooperation with India's fraternity to learn from the global success of Indian films.

Ethiopia's State Minister of Culture and Tourism Tadelech Dalecha also encouraged the Ethiopian film industry to draw the best practices from India to embellish the cherished relationship between the two countries. He congratulated the embassy for organising the symposium as it provided "a platform for exchange of ideas among various stakeholders in the film industry".

Several speakers recalled the impact made by Indian cinema on their lives, especially films of the 1950s and 1960s.

Eminent Ethiopian filmmakers including Tatek Tadesse, Surafiel Wondimu and Berhane Negussie talked about the impact Indian films like Mehboob Khan's legendary "Mother India" and Yash Chopra's "Waqt" made on them. Haiyamanot Alemu spoke on the challenges of feature filmmaking in Ethiopia. His film was being premiered this week.

Renowned screenplay writer Tesfaye Mamo discussed historical aspects, present conditions and future prospects of the film industry in Ethiopia. Ramendra Shah, a long time distributor of Indian films here, gave an overview of the history and impact of Indian cinema in Ethiopia while Indian scholars Neeti Sethi Bose and Heroy Arefe-Aine made a presentation on stereotypes and popular cinema.

State Minister of Trade and Industry Ahmed Tusa, an alumnus of India's Hissar Agriculture University, appreciated the embassy's initiative in trying to create a forum for discussion among filmmakers of Ethiopia and government bodies. The symposium also discussed the role of film festivals, capacity building for cinema, emulating the model of India's government-funded National Film Development Corp (NFDC) and using Ethiopian cinema to promote the country's identity and image overseas.

Indian Ambassador Gurjit Singh announced that the embassy would continue to encourage cinema in Ethiopia and assist in whatever manner possible including supporting a forum of filmmakers, for interaction on good cinema and its impact in Ethiopia.

"Impact of Indian Cinema on Ethiopia", a documentary produced by the Ethiopian Television, was also screened at the symposium. It included interviews with filmgoers who watch Indian films at home - many of them said that while they do not understand Hindi but have seen some Hindi films often enough to provide simultaneous translation into the local language for others.

The documentary also featured many video parlour owners who said they had better turnout for Indian films than for Hollywood films.

A week-long festival of award-winning Indian films, currently underway here, is drawing film buffs. The films being screened include "Massey Sahib", "English August", "Train to Pakistan", "Vastupurush", "Shubho Muhurat", "Baghban" and "Manthan".