What does Meron Getnet have in common with Angelina Jolie?

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Ethiopian Meron Getnet Listed Among ’10 Actors to Watch Out For’ at Sundance 2014

Meron Getnet (“Difret”)

Why You May Know Her: Starring in the first Ethiopian film to ever premiere at Sundance, Meron Getnet is a renown actress, poet, and playwright in Ethiopia. She was one of four Ethiopians chosen to attend President Obama’s African Youth Leaders Forum in DC. She is a feature a popular TV drama and is already a star in her country. And she’s rising in America with her debut at Sundance in a film written and directed by Zeresenay Berhane Mehari and executively produced by Angelina Jolie.
What Sundance Could Mean for Her: A breakout performance in the US. “Difret” is the story of a 14-year-old girl caught up in a country’s staggering progression toward equal rights. When she acts in self-defense, an aspiring young lawyer (Getnet) risks her career to represent the child and save her life. Based on real events, the World Dramatic film promises a daring and moving story. And hopefully a new spotlight for Getnet.
What’s Next? Getnet is currently working on her Masters on development and the arts at Addis Abada University. There’s nothing official in the works for more feature film performance, but this might be the first of many (or at least a couple) more.

Sodere team compiled the following information from different sources.

Film Synopsis: DIFRET

ETHIOPIA. 1996.

Meaza Ashenafi is a workaholic and the founder of an organization that provides free legal aid services to poor women and children in need. As a young lawyer and a tireless advocate for women she operates under the government’s radar until one legal case exposes everything and threatens the survival of her work.

14-year-old Hirut Assefa is abducted while walking home from school by a 29-year-old farmer who intends to marry her. Hirut shoots and kills her abductor with his own rifle, in an attempt to get back to her parents.

Hirut is charged with murder by the local police and kept in prison without bail. She is facing the death penalty though she claims her actions are in self-defense. The news about Hirut’s case spreads like wildfire in the media throughout Ethiopia and Meaza seeks to represent her in the legal proceedings.

Inspired by this young girl’s courage, Meaza embarks on a long tenacious battle to save Hirut’s life. As the trial unfolds, these two women’s lives become inextricably linked. The emotional toll caused by the highs and lows of their legal battle tests the limits of everything that Meaza and Hirut hold dear.

Director’s Statement

I was born and raised in Ethiopia and came to the United States 15 years ago to study film at the University of Southern California. After graduating in 2002, I split my time between Los Angeles and Ethiopia working in both film industries. For the last ten years I have witnessed Ethiopia change and grow in ways that are conflicted. I wanted to make a film that captured this flux and translated the struggle of moving from an old Ethiopia to a new one. DIFRET became that film by posing one simple question: What happens when traditions that are passed down from generation to generation become interrupted?

I answer this question by telling the story of Meaza Ashenafi, the founder of a legal aid organization that challenged one of the oldest traditions in Ethiopia called “telefa”. Telefa is the practice of abduction into marriage. It is a tradition that is taken for granted in many parts of the country and affects over 40% of adolescent girls.

Challenging old traditions is difficult. Moving from old to new is never easy. It is always unsettling and confusing. By making this film I hope to lessen this confusion and reveal the ways in which the human condition transcends when belief systems fall apart. Making this connection reveals that the politics of everyday life and how people respond to the many traditions they encounter shape what Ethiopia is to become in the future.

BY TAYLOR LINDSAY , Indiewire.com