Difret

Time Out says
When a 14-year-old girl is arrested in rural Ethiopia after murdering the man who abducted her, a female lawyer working for a women’s rights organisation decides to take a stand against the country’s legal system. No Ethiopian court has ever acquitted a woman who’s killed in self-defence.
Based on actual events, this is the first Ethiopian feature to get a UK release. Meron Getnet is the charismatic legal crusader who finds herself at odds with the customs of the country, which regard abduction as a traditional part of marriage and which demand the swift killing of the girl for taking a man’s life. Tizita Hagere is thoroughly believable as the vulnerable teenager in the dock, conveying a heartbreaking guilt for bringing such grief to her family.
It’s just a shame the film is slightly ragged, with a tendency to preach when there’s more than enough drama to get the point across. Still, it’s an important story, told with commitment.
Details
Release details
Cast and crew
Tizita Hagere
Rahel Teshome