Sami lives in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. He is a scholar in his sixties who has just finished the Amharic translation of a monograph on Greco-Roman mythology. Whether he receives help from friends or goes without food, Sami sails tirelessly on; his obsession is to publish his work, so that his fellow citizens may discover the intrigues of the Olympian Gods, the ambitious endeavour of Phaethon, the fateful encounter between Diana and Actaeon. In Robin Dimet’s heartfelt documentary, literary translation is a lonely, precarious pursuit. Living in a rudimentarily furnished home, Sami has spent nearly two decades on this colossal project, which has grown into an all-consuming obsession. The book has overwhelmed all other aspects of his life, leaving friends, relatives and Sami’s own wellbeing in the rearview mirror.
Here is a man who, because of his ardent passion, is perpetually out of step with the times. In spite of his bashfulness, Sami is also embraced by a robust circle of artists and intellectuals, who offer him emotional as well as financial support for the completion of his manuscript. At the same time, at the launch for his long-awaited book, Sami is strangely at a loss for words, as he refuses to give a speech about his efforts. Robin Dimet studied cinema at the University of Paris VIII before joining the National Institute of Cinematography in Russia (VGIK). Fluent in Russian, Sami´s Odysseys is his first feature.
View trailer here
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-N6ejOs0sEg or https://www.truestory.film/samis-odysseys
Sami´s Odysseys on TrueStory.film