The cinema of Ethiopia was introduced in 1897, two years after the first world film was projected on December 25, 1895, in
Paris. However, the growth rate critically declined as a result of ongoing sociopolitical instability. Over decades, the Ethiopian film industry has been associated with cultural, religious, and national backgrounds and, under the pressure of its leaders, advanced historical and documentary films.
Berhanou Abebbé wrote in the 2003 article ''Annales d'Ethiopie
that a Frenchman introduced the first cinematic artifacts in Ethiopia in 1898, sold to Italian minister . Ciccodicola then offered it to Emperor Menelik II as a gift. According to historians Berhanou and Richard Pankhurst, before the first public film screening occurred in (1909–1910), the Majesty watched several films over decades. In 1923, the first cinema house was completed and built by Ethiopians. Berhanou also noted that the first cinema house was called Pate; and it
was owned by MM. Baicovich, which was functional from 1909 to 1910. During the first phase of cinema introduction, people were unsatisfactory to watch films. Berhanou quoted the French historian Merab, in his Impressions d'Ethiopie'' (1922), "people apparently didn't like to entertain themselves." Pankhurst, a distinguished historian published his book
Economic History of Ethiopia in 1968, further elaborated that the Armenians were attempted to project by 1909–10, but only attracted by temporary interest and soon abandoned it. Some natives misunderstandingly compared cinema to "devil work". Propelled by objection to the first house opened in 1923, the native labelled the cinema "Ye Seytan Bet" ("devil's house"). Chris Prouty noted that Ethiopia and Eritrea as the only country in Africa indifferent to foreign films. The first Ethiopian film
au de Menilek was released in 1909 directed by Charles Martel. The first short film is 16mm black-and-white film, produced on the occasion of Empress
Zewditu's coronation day in 1916. In addition, the coronation of Emperor
Haile Selassie was filmed. There was also produced limited feature films. In 1965, the first ever
feature length film titled ''
Who is Hirut's father? released and directed by Elala Ibsa. The film story revolved around a woman named Hirut who meets her future husband and have a daughter. Soon, after moving from Nazreth to Addis Ababa, her husband jailed for 15 years and she and her daughter moved to Asmara to live better life. Then, her daughter faces social stigma for not having a father. In 2020, the film has been digitized and available for premiere for audience. In 1978, the Ethiopian Film Center to encourage film production, which was later replaced by Ethiopian Film Corporation in accordance with Decree No. 306/1986. It was produced 27 documentaries; two of whom are notable titled BehiywetZuria
and Aster''. However with the regime of Derg caused a split of sector with private investment. Little was known before internationally grossed films revived in the 1990s. Most of renowned figures responsible for recognition of Ethiopian films internationally are
Haile Gerima,
Salem Mekuria, Yemane Demissie, and
Teshome Gabriel. In 1993, the Ethiopian Filmmakers Association (EFIMA) was launched with objective of boosting the film growth in Ethiopia. At the time, the organization only have 27 founding members who were employees of the Ethiopian Film Corporation, the only public enterprise representing the film industry. The organization grew with 150 members representing five regions of the country. It has been called the pioneer association to bear filmmakers in Ethiopia. According to Addis Ababa Culture and Tourism Bureau, there was an increase of production into from 10 to 112 films in 2005–2012. In 2013, the
Ethiopian government planned with stakeholders of various working sectors to draft a new film policy. These include imposing license, expanding film schools, taxations, increasing equipments, and helping filmmakers to encourage production in culturally and diversify background. However scholars such as Aboneh Ashagrie and Alessandro Jedlowski argued that the Ethiopian films may qualified to international premiere because of filmmaking preference in amateurish style and differ from foreign norms. There are also internationally grossed films in particular;
Difret (2014) and
Price of Love (2015) became the most acclaimed film whereas
Rebuni (2015) and
Yewendoch Guday (2007) were domestically successful films. == Notable figures ==