Modernity, Fascism & Resistance: How Four Ethiopians Confronted, Maneuvered and Survived the Italo-Ethiopian War of 1935-1941

A lecture by

Yemane Demissie

NYU Professor / Filmmaker

with

Heran Sereke-Brhan

Ph.D. Cultural Historian

Interim Executive Director, Commission on the Arts & Humanities

Filmmaker Yemane Demissie’s forthcoming social-history documentary series, The Quantum Leapers: Ethiopia 1916-1975, focuses on the buoyant and tumultuous experiences of Ethiopians during the reign of Emperor Haile Selassie I. Synthesizing imagery and narratives from more than 500 interviews and thousands of photographs unearthed from the interviewees’ collections and dozens of international archives, the series considers how the 1935-1941 Italo-Ethiopian War and Occupation compelled the country to reevaluate its age-old traditions in the face of war and modernity.

At this lecture, Yemane will present stories revolving around the airplane—long an emblem of modernity—to explore the interlinked lives of four individuals who confront, embrace or glide with the sudden and immense changes brought about by war, occupation and liberation.