When “Faya Dayi” director Jessica Beshir first began filming the documentary more than a decade ago, the endeavor also marked a homecoming. It was one of her first times returning to her hometown of Harar, Ethiopia, since her family fled to Mexico due to ongoing political strife.
Thus, Beshir wove into the narrative the Sufi fable of Azurkherlaini, whose search for Maoul Hayat, the water of eternal light, leads to the creation of khat, a gift from God. “These were very intimate sharings that they were offering to me, and I felt that they would best resonate in a black and white environment,” Beshir explained. “The colors of Harar are explosive — and that’s not an exaggeration — but that was not the story. I felt that the black and white really helped me to focus into the texture of the film, into the shadows of the film, which I felt were part of the storytelling.
One of the central figures of the film is a young boy named Mohammed Arif, who Beshir met when he was 12 years old, among a group of kids who were curious about what she was shooting. The two became close since his mother wasn’t present in his life and he had a challenging relationship with his father. The film chronicles Mohammed’s life at age 14.
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