Ten-year-old Asalif and his mother have been displaced from their farmland on the outskirts of Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, by the construction of a condominium. To fight back against those casting him out, Asalif taps into a fantasy of becoming his hero: the lion (“anbessa” in Amharic). Asalif uses his imagination to battle forces beyond his control. He must find the strength that resides in him in order to deal with the tides of change that are usurping a community, a country, and his own identity.
Anbessa Anbessa
Through an intimate coming-of-age story, Anbessa captures one boy taking on modernization on his own terms, revealing a unique and magical perspective on the myth of “progress”.
What's On
The Voice of Hind Rajab Sawt Hind Rajab
Kaouther Ben Hania
Friday, 16. 01. 2026 / 16:20 / Main Hall
A harrowing reconstruction of the attempted rescue of a Palestinian girl, intertwining real emergency call recordings with dramatised scenes in a call centre. Winner of the Grand Jury Prize in Venice and nominated for a Golden Globe for Best Non-English Language Film.
Additional Screening
Wisdom of Happiness Wisdom of Happiness
Barbara Miller, Philip Delaquis
Friday, 16. 01. 2026 / 17:30 / Small Hall
With disarming wit, the Dalai Lama reflects on balancing millennia-old Tibetan Buddhist traditions with the contemporary values of our globalised society that now struggles to overcome violence and war while standing on the brink of environmental collapse.