The 7th Gumma Film Award is an Ethiopian movie award, with the sole aim of acknowledging and honoring the best Ethiopian performing films and artists. It is exclusively sponsored by Bedele Special.
Ethiopia cinema and the Ethiopian film industry in general is a relatively recent phenomenon in Ethiopia. The Ethiopian film industry is growing but still faces challenges that have prevented it from fully flourishing. Historically, live stage theater enjoyed more popularity in Ethiopia and created a handful of relatively successful stage actors.
More than 75 Ethiopian movies were produced during the 2011-2012 (Ethiopian calendar) and of these, 45 films were registered and will be nominated in 18 different categories to receive the Gumma Film Award. Last year the Best Film of the year 2011 went to Yelomi Shita. Solomon Bogale took home Best Actor and Elizabeth Melaku took home Best Actress awards of the year. One of the leading categories among the Gumma Film Award is one given for Lifetime Achievement; last year it went to 88 year old director Michel Papatakis, who created Ethiopia’s first 35mm color film called Gumma, during the reign of Emperor Haile Sellasie I.
According to the organizers, Gumma Film Award envisions cultivating and scaling up the Ethiopian film industry to a world class standard, with the vision of creating a platform for Ethiopian films to promote Ethiopian culture, values and stories worldwide. The Gumma Film Award was created by director Yonas Berhane Mewa, founder and owner of Ethio Films Production.
