Film Screening with the Utah Film Center.
Anbessa
Directed by Mo Scarpelli
85 min | 2020 | Italy/Ethiopia/USA | Not Rated
Screens in Amharic with English subtitles
Recommended for ages 10+
Post-film Skype Q&A with the film’s director.
Through a coming-of-age story, Anbessa captures one boy taking on modernization on his own terms, revealing a unique and magical perspective on the myth of “progress” that entraps us all. Ten-year-old Asalif and his mother have been displaced from their farmland on the outskirts of Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, by the construction of a condominium. As they watch the buildings take shape, they are reminded in small and big ways that their country’s dream of “progress” is not for them. To fight back against those casting him out and those threatening his mother’s safety, Asalif taps into a fantasy of becoming his hero: the lion (“anbessa” in Amharic). Asalif uses his imagination to battle forces beyond his control.
Winner: Jury Prize Best Director–2019 Telluride Mountainfilm Festival
Official Selection: 69th Berlinale International Film Festival
2019 Hot Docs Canadian International Film Festival
Presented as part of the 2020 Tumbleweeds Film Festival.
No Tickets Required. Seats available on a first-come-first-serve basis.
NOTE: The Main Library's Rooftop Terrace is closed through 2020 for repairs and renovations.
Salt Lake City's Main Library, designed by internationally-acclaimed architect Moshe Safdie in conjunction with VCBO Architecture, opened in February 2003 and remains one of the most architecturally unique structures in Utah. This striking 240,000 square-foot structure houses more than 500,000 books and other materials, yet serves as more than just a repository of books and computers. It reflects and engages the city's imagination and aspirations. The structure embraces a public plaza, with shops and services at ground level, reading galleries above, and a 300-seat auditorium.
A multi-level reading area along the Glass Lens at the southern facade of the building looks out onto the plaza with stunning views of the city and Wasatch Mountains beyond. Spiraling fireplaces on four floors resemble a column of flame from the vantage of 200 East and 400 South. The Urban Room between the Library and the Crescent Wall is a space for all seasons, generously endowed with daylight and open to magnificent views.
