Ethiopa: A Portrait

Part of Elmer Hawkes' 12-part Worlds Together series, Ethiopa: A Portrait offers a fine overview of an African nation about which many Westerners probably share misconceptions. Hardly a border-to-border, barren desert incapable of sustaining human life, Ethiopa boasts verdant, lush forests, colorful masses on busy city streets, and communities that draw sustenance and livelihoods from the Blue Nile River. The country also has a number of complications and woes: 83 different languages, 45 different ethnicities in the southern region alone, high unemployment, soaring HIV and AIDS rates, and frequent war casualties. Both an African and an Arab nation (with some lingering adversity between Christian and Muslim peoples), Ethiopia was also the home of legendary Emperor Haile Selassie, a man regarded by many as a god and a crucial icon in Jamaican Rastafarianism. Hawkes' film is dense with history and facts, but he also concentrates on the human element, and his penchant for capturing scores of people on camera helps put a recognizable human face on this complex nation. Highly recommended. Aud: C, P. (T. Keogh)