Jessica Beshir

Jessica Beshir is a Mexican-Ethiopian writer, director, producer and cinematographer based in Brooklyn. Her feature debut Faya Dayi premiered at the 2021 Sundance Film Festival and was acquired for distribution by Janus Films and MUBI. The film has screened at festivals around the world. Her early short films, Hairat, He Who Dances on Wood and Heroin have played in festivals and museums around the world.

Filmography

Films by this director

Faya Dayi

(Etiopija, USA, Qatar, 2021)

Directed by: Jessica Beshir

PHOTOGRAPHY: Jessica Beshir

Synopsis:

Ethiopian legend has it that khat, a stimulant green leaf, was found by Sufi Imams in search of eternity. Inspired by this myth, Faya Dayi is a spiritual journey into the highlands of Harar immersed in the rituals of khat, a stimulant green leaf that for centuries Sufi Muslims chewed for religious meditations and has become Ethiopia’s most lucrative cash crop today. Through the prism of the khat trade, Faya Dayi weaves a tapestry of intimate stories of people caught bet...

b/w, DCP, 120’

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