Fendika Cultural Center is a well-known and much beloved dynamic art space that draws artists from across Africa and the world to present music, dance, poetry, and visual art.
This film tells the story of how this vital space came into being and how it continues to serve as a place for artists to invent and reinvent Ethiopian modernity and place it in dialogue with global culture.
Melaku Belay is the director of Fendika Cultural Center (fendika.org), president of the Ethiopian Dance Art Association, world-renowned Ethiopian dancer, and leader of Ethiocolor and Fendika bands. Melaku has always been committed to the development and preservation of Ethiopian performance culture and heritage. Under Melaku’s leadership since 2008, Fendika is the first music venue in Addis Ababa that pays regular salaries to traditional musicians and dancers. Fendika is home to artists of many disciplines and cultural backgrounds, offering music, dance, visual art and poetry.
Cisco Bradley is an American historian known for his work on music, migration, and cultural production. He is a professor at the Pratt Institute, where he teaches the history and aesthetics of music from the African diaspora and runs the Music and Migration Lab. Take Me to Fendika is his first documentary film. It is a collaboration with filmmakers and artists in the U.S., Ethiopia, and Sweden. The film focuses on the Fendika Cultural Center and founder, dancer Melaku Belay, as well as a number of active musicians in Addis Ababa.
For the trailer and more information see
link below:
Source: takemetofendika.com