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SOAS Global Development and the Chinese in Africa / Africans in China (CA/AC) Research Network are co-hosting the screening and discussion of the documentary film Made in Ethiopia.

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Co-directed by Max Duncan and Xinyan Yu, and produced with Tamara Dawit, Made in Ethiopia lifts the curtain on China’s historic but misunderstood impact on Africa, and explores contemporary Ethiopia at a moment of profound crisis. 

Professor Christopher Cramer described the film, which premiered at the Tribeca Festival 2024, where it won the Jury Special Mention, as "astonishingly sensitive to different perspectives and experiences, very well filmed, and gives sharp insights into what is involved in the fraught process of industrialisation.”

Synopsis

When a massive Chinese industrial park lands in rural Ethiopia, a dusty farming town finds itself at the new frontier of globalization. The sprawling factory complex’s formidable Chinese director Motto now needs every bit of mettle and charm she can muster to push through a high-stakes expansion that promises 30,000 new jobs. 

Ethiopian farmer Workinesh and factory worker Beti have staked their futures on the prosperity the park promises. But as initial hope meets painful realities, they find themselves, like their country, at a pivotal crossroads.

Host

• Carlos Oya, Professor of Political Economy of Development (SOAS)

Panelists

• Linda Calabrese (ODI and KCL)
• Ayalew Mamo (Centre of African Studies, SOAS)
• Weiwei Chen (Open University and former SOAS)
• Max Duncan (filmmaker)

This event is organised by SOAS Global Development and co-hosted with the Chinese in Africa / Africans in China (CA/AC) Research Network.