By Alemayehu S/Selassie and Tibebeselassie Tigabu

ADDIS ABABA, Ethiopia – For most European filmmakers the experience of going to Africa to shoot and screen their films is a rare experience. As most project financers tend to finance European and United States films, very few turn their face to shooting in Africa. As Initiative Africa’s fourth Annual Film Festival launches this week, it has given a few filmmakers a chance to come and premier their works. As Alessandro Molatore, one of the highly anticipated documentary filmmakers was popping by Addis Ababa to screen his acclaimed Children of Manila, Al Qarafa (the place of the dead people) and Cemetery People films; he explained what the African experience meant to him.

The 30-year-old filmmaker, who came from Dublin, Ireland, was born in the Alps very close to Milan, Italy. This filmmaker studied in Bologna up until he turns 20, where he went to Germany lived a while and later moved to California to finish his filmmaking scholarship studies before going back to his motherland ending up in Ireland. Currently coming to Ethiopia to take part in the film festival in Addis Ababa, Alessandro did his thesis on the Sata Barbara International Film Festival.

Alessandro has been to different parts of the world shooting documentaries. But none of the experiences match the shocking treatment he received from his experience in Lagos, Nigeria. “I was there as a cameraman for a documentary on Nolywood... I’ll be very sincere with you it was one of the most terrible experiences of my life.” He remembers how his first time African experience went horribly wrong.

“I am from Europe and I have heard a lot of stories about Africa. But I could not have imagined a city as Lagos could be so extreme and from the very start I felt very, very scared. The experience is quiet the opposite of what I have found here in Addis. Even though it is very poor, I always felt very safe here”, he compares his recent trip.

As an Italian, Alessandro was interested to know the story of Ethiopia, which had briefly been under Italian occupation for five years. “I have read a bit about Ethiopia and the famous battle of Adowa and Graziani...” he states how the people have come over the history that shed blood and became friends. “I don’t think that you guys hate us. Which is good” he teasingly remarks.

Alessandro has set foot into Africa again when he shot another documentary in Egypt Al Qarafa [the place of the dead] before coming to Addis Ababa.

The filmmaker has also been to Mexico before going to Lagos and he thought that he was going to have a more relaxed atmosphere when he went to Africa.

“When compared to Lagos, Mexico City looks like a paradise. From the first time I arrived in Nigeria, I was with the film crew and I was the only Caucasian person. There were supposed to be a group people waiting for us. When we arrived there, there were three groups we did not know which one was ours.”

In an airport, which was packed with people, he was confused to find the right group he was supposed to go with.

“I just saw an exchange of money going around; I did not even know what they were doing… There were some military men on the scene. And while they were exchanging money one of the military men spit on me which was not very nice”, he remembers the agonizing welcome he received in his first trip. “I did not ask why he did that. That was my welcome to Africa.”

Looking at the 10-20 hungry children with watery eyes on the window of the car he was ridding in was also another shocking experience he faced while traveling to his hotel. The sight of armed men that are not cops in the city has also made his stay in the West African nation shocking. Among his shocking experience, one was the offering of prostitutes each night in his hotel.

“I said no, I am not interested. I am sure for them it was something nice. I was more interested in their stories but obviously I did not go to the next level. So two-three nights later they bring another one. They were thinking, this guy has difficult taste. It was really insane.”

Alessandro was surprised when he received an invitation to screen his film in Addis Ababa at the Addis international film festival.

“It was kind of a surprise for me to receive an invitation to take part in the festival here. They have probably seen my documentaries from one of the 20 or so festivals the Children of Manila and Cemetery People premiered in and won a few awards.”

Alessandro states that it is hard to get into festivals in Europe and America for there are a lot of films that apply to screen. This filmmaker has been blessed with his screenings as he has won a number of prizes after the screenings. The Children of Manila won four prizes while the Cemetery People won three.

Going back and forth to the different countries, this filmmaker did his first short documentary ‘Dog From Hell’ which was produced by Universal Studios. His first documentary was screened on TV before it went to a number of festivals. Alessandro writes, directs and edits his own films and to date he has some 10 films which are tied to his name. All his films are short and the longest one he has done is only 20 minutes long.

“I started with fiction, horror and gangster films for fun. But they were all short, maybe it is because I was a trainer. It is really hard just to make these films”, he explains on why he is limited to making more documentaries.

All of Alessandro’s films are low budget. Having taken many roles in the making has limited the cost. “There are films which I only paid a couple of beers for friends of mine to lend me the camera”, he teasingly remarks. Most of the documentaries he does however range from 2,000-20,000 euros. Among the most expensive films that Alessandro did, ‘Cactus’ tops the list. “It was shot in film as opposed to digital camera. And I had to send it to England to have it developed; the cost was high.”
As filmmaking is booming in Addis Ababa, it might look like there is a heyday for all forms of filmmaking. Yet, this director states that the life of a documentary filmmaker is not as fulfilling as the feature filmmakers. “It is a complete tragedy. I am not making a living with these documentaries at the moment. I am currently editing a documentary they shot in Cambodia”. Alessandro states that he pays for his films from his decent salary he gets from teaching, from a few sponsors and fundraiser concerts.
“Training is less fun for me but I don’t mind.”

Alessandro enjoys his traveling life, but he states that his experience in Africa has not always been very good.

But not all memories of the shooting in Lagos have been bad. The particular sight of an additional role to the assistant director is still something that brings a smile to Alessandro’s face.

“There was an assistant director in one of the shootings where he was whipping the crowd with a whip that was getting too close to the camera.”

Teaching the editing semester at the University in New York, Italy and other parts of Europe, Alessandro is busy. He states that he loves making films but his main area of expertise is editing films. Currently teaching at the Final Cut Pro editing application of Apple Macintosh in Europe, and managing one of the biggest Apple training centers Film Base in Ireland.

The contrast of lifestyle is something that Alessandro likes to show in his films. There are many poor people who cannot even imagine having the luxury where as there are also women that cannot imagine how it is like to be poor. “There was this woman in Egypt living in a cemetery comparing her lifestyle with her relative that was living in another cemetery. She was not upset because of the comparison she made between her life and the people in Beverly Hills or Europe are spending millions for nothing. I do not think that she can imagine that the same way these people cannot imagine there are people living in a cemetery.”

There are many places in the world where people live in cemeteries. But I think the cemetery in Egypt with its million people, is the one with the largest number.