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Watch on VimeoAbout the Film
"Besela" means "The Scar" in Tigrinya.
Besela is an intimate, character-driven film set in the wake of mass violence in Tigray, Ethiopia, where a humanitarian, a trauma nurse, a surgeon and a young former fighter confront the lasting moral, psychological, and physical scars of war. Shot with a small footprint and an observational approach, Besela follows four people on the human frontlines of war. Those who survive it, treat it, respond to it and carry its consequences.
Context
In November 2020, war broke out in the Tigray region of northern Ethiopia. Over the following two years, mass atrocities were committed against civilians, including widespread killings, sexual violence, forced displacement, and the destruction of hospitals and schools. The war also caused substantial civilian casualties and displacement in the neighboring Amhara and Afar regions.
A near-total communications blackout meant that much of the war unfolded beyond public view. Although a cessation of hostilities agreement was signed in November 2022, the consequences remain acute: displacement continues, systems have not recovered, and accountability remains limited. Yet across Tigray, people continue to endure, rebuild, and hold on to forms of faith, culture, and belonging that war did not erase.
Why This Film
Tigray is already slipping from international memory. Besela returns attention to a conflict whose consequences remain painfully alive in the minds and lives of its characters.
The film traces how people continue when their bodies, relationships, and inner lives have been permanently altered. The film does not rest only on loss. It also makes room for endurance: for what remains living in people, landscapes, music, ritual, and love after catastrophe.
Besela has been made in close collaboration with a local Tigrayan team. Its perspective emerges from lived experience, long-standing relationships, and a shared commitment to telling this story with rigor, care, and moral clarity.
Impact
"A reckoning — not just for Ethiopia, but for all societies grappling with cycles of violence."
We hope this film will shift the world's gaze back to Tigray, igniting action for the enormous rehabilitation and recovery effort that has not eventuated since the war ended, and calling for the full realisation of the Ethiopia-Tigray peace agreement signed in Pretoria in late November 2022. Our intention is to screen Besela across Ethiopia together with facilitated discussions which aim to promote healing and reconciliation. We also hope that Besela will spark something deeper in its audience. A reckoning, not just for Ethiopians, but for all societies grappling with the legacies and cycles of conflict and violence.
Help Finish the Film
Besela has been filmed over several months inside Tigray. We are now raising funds to bring on an editor and carry the film through post-production, so it can be completed with the craftsmanship, depth, and care the story demands.
Every contribution helps carry this work forward. If you are unable to donate, sharing the film with others also makes a difference.
Funds go toward
The Team
Director, Producer, Writer
Former UN humanitarian worker who lived and worked inside Tigray during the war. Sarah's long-standing relationships in the region and deep understanding of the causes and consequences of conflict are central to the film's access, character engagement and point of view.
Co-Director, Producer, Director of Photography
Award-winning documentary filmmaker and cinematographer. Jonny's earlier film Woyane marked the beginning of his relationship with Tigray, laying the groundwork for his collaboration on Besela.
Cinematographer, Co-Producer
Amanuel is a self-taught Tigrayan filmmaker and founder of AMBES VFX Studio. As cinematographer on Besela, he helps shape the film's visual language, access and connection with the Tigrayan community.
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and the road to completion.
For screening enquiries, partnerships, or press:
hello@beselafilm.com
