About
Film Ethiopia is led by Henok Mebratu from Addis Ababa. He is not only a fixer — he writes, directs, produces, edits, grades and scores — and he assembles a different team of specialists for every production.
Who is Film Ethiopia?
Film Ethiopia is a filmmaker-led production service company based in Addis Ababa, founded by Henok Mebratu. Henok has worked in the Ethiopian film industry since 2002 and has supported international productions since 2008, directing documentaries for the African Union, the European Union, UNDP and Al Jazeera, editing four Ethiopian feature films, and representing Ethiopia at the Cannes Film Festival and Berlinale. The company is not a one-man operation: a bench of producers, technicians, regional fixers, translators, editors and composers is assembled for each project, scaled to the client's requirement and budget.
Henok has been making films in Ethiopia since 2002, first as an instructor, director and editor at what was then the country's largest private film school, and from 2008 running his own production operation in Addis Ababa.
The filmography runs in two directions. As a director and producer he has made documentaries for the African Union, the European Union, UNDP, the Tony Blair Africa Governance Initiative and Al Jazeera, with work screened at the United Nations General Assembly in New York, at European Union headquarters in Brussels, in Monte Carlo, and in the African Union Conference Hall in front of more than thirty heads of state. As an editor and colourist he has cut four Ethiopian feature films, more than ten documentaries and over one hundred and fifty commercials.
He was a national winner of the International Emerging Film Talent Association pitching contest, took Ethiopia's national selection to the Cannes Film Festival in 2012, and has since returned to Cannes and to Berlinale. He trained in computer science before film, which is why the data workflow on our shoots tends to be tighter than the industry average.
Alongside client work he has run filmmaking workshops and mentoring in Addis Ababa with visiting international professionals, which is where a good part of our crew bench comes from.
Henok is personally involved in every project, but Film Ethiopia works as a network. For each production we assemble the people it actually needs: producers and assistant directors, directors of photography, sound recordists, gaffers and grips, licensed drone pilots, art department, medics and security advisers, fixers resident in each regional state, interpreters for each language group, editors, colourists and composers.
That structure is deliberate. It means a two-person documentary team is not paying for infrastructure it does not need, and a fifty-person commercial unit is not held up because one company does not have the depth. We reach the resources of the whole country and the wider region, and we size the team to the client's brief and budget.
We quote with government fees at cost, third-party costs at cost, and our own fee on a separate line. We do not mark up crew or vehicles. We sign NDAs as a matter of routine. We tell clients when a shot is not going to be approved, when a schedule needs another travel day, and when they are about to spend money they do not need to spend.
We also decline work. If a brief asks us to stage a community, misrepresent a contributor or put someone at risk for a shot, we will say no and explain why.
Our competitive edge
Henok Mebratu writes, directs, produces, edits, colour grades and scores films of his own. He has cut four feature films and directed documentaries for the African Union, the European Union, UNDP and Al Jazeera. When you send a treatment, it is read by someone who has sat in your chair, which means the recce notes, schedule and crew list come back shaped around the film you are actually trying to make.
Two decades of working inside the Ethiopian industry means direct lines to DoPs, sound recordists, gaffers, drivers, translators, community elders, park wardens and government offices. Internationally, Henok has represented Ethiopia at Cannes and Berlinale and works continuously with producers, broadcasters and agencies abroad, so the handover between your office and the ground is short.
We have supported crews and clients from Africa, Europe, North America, South America, Asia and Australia, including Al Jazeera, UNESCO, RT, Bombardier, Girl Effect, Arsenal FC, Parking Lot Films in Los Angeles, Hurrah Productions in Singapore, Proudfoot in the UK and Deuxième Ligne Films in France. Every market has its own paperwork, insurance and delivery habits, and we already know most of them.
A solo self-shooter with a camera bag and three days gets the same care as a multi-vehicle series with a fifty-person unit. We scale the team and the spend to your brief instead of pushing a fixed package, and we will tell you honestly when something can be done more cheaply.
Film Ethiopia is Henok plus a bench of specialists assembled per project: producers, ADs, DoPs, drone pilots, sound recordists, fixers in every regional state, translators for each language group, medics, security advisers, editors, colourists and composers. We reach the resources of the whole country and the wider region, and we right-size the crew to the client's requirement and budget.
You can hire us for airport pickup and a translator, or for the entire chain: permits, customs, crew, line producing, shoot, archive research, edit, grade, mix and original Ethiopian score. Most clients start small and hand over more once they see the first day run on schedule.
Industry & training
Workshops, mentoring and festival work in Addis Ababa, Cannes and Berlin — the reason we can put an internationally fluent Ethiopian unit on the floor.
References
Henok Mebratu is a very creative, imaginative and hard-working individual. I have known and worked with him for nearly a decade and always found him to be a reliable and supportive colleague. I have worked with many talented people throughout my long career in television and film and have no hesitation in recommending Henok as a top-notch professional partner.
Henok Mebratu delivered fast, thoughtful, international-standard quality work within a tight timeframe and on budget, across continents.
Henok and his team were a vital part of our production team while filming in Ethiopia this year. He is professional, efficient, and was also great company during a challenging shoot.
Henok Mebratu is professional, resourceful, efficient, reliable, creative and calm under pressure.
More references available on request. We are happy to put you in touch with producers who have shot here.
Start a production
Send dates, regions, crew size and a paragraph about the film. You will get an itemised, honest answer within one working day — and we will tell you if something is not going to work.