Sheffield DocFest 2024: Made in Ethiopia

China’s contributions to the industrialisation of Africa are one of the most illuminative geopolitical stories today, especially when attempting to measure its success. Made in Ethiopia is an incredible achievement, an observational documentary film that tells an accessible and informative story through compelling characters, as China attempts to build a commercial infrastructure in Ethiopia, a country looking to move the public perception forward from associations of war and famine, with mixed success.

It’s a major testament to co-directors Xinyan Yu and Max Duncan’s abilities that they’re able to intimately access a handful of characters who represent different aspects of a shared dream. There’s Chinese businesswoman Motto, heading the Eastern Industrial Zone, a jeans-making factory built in the dusty town of Dukem, 30km away from the country’s capital. She’s a fascinating individual of contradictions, her good intentions clashing with her lack of empathy.

A great orator who truly believes in Ethiopia’s prospects, she tells her stakeholders that Ethiopia and China will majorly grow in synthesis. But when she’s demanding that 5000 pairs of jeans are produced when workers are only capable of doing around 3500 on a good day, it’s fair to assume she’s blinded by a devotion to productivity.

Part of this is cultural, as she notes that Chinese New Year is the only day her counterparts at home take off. Her workaholism seems to be the source of ignorance of basic living – she does not recognise that, though the factory may grow in size, there’s a fundamental need to build schools and hospitals in the area. Furthermore, the expansion plans come into conflict with neighbouring farming families, as we see through the eyes of Workinesh and Rehoboth, a mother-daughter pairing whose home life is exacerbated when Workinesh’s husband turns to alcoholism as an outlet for his anger at what’s happening around him.

Then there’s Beti, a factory worker who’s committed to her work and education, believing that she’ll be able to facilitate her dreams in a way previous generations couldn’t. Sadly, Motto’s micro-management proves increasingly unwelcoming, and serves as a universal allegory of the problem with working life anywhere – it’s all down to the right leadership.

Made in Ethiopia’s only real issue is that the story is arguably too big for a feature, as it takes multiple time jumps to wrangle all the threads together. Ultimately, though, it serves as an utterly riveting portrait of global economic growth, capturing both its successes and failures.

Musanna Ahmed

Made in Ethiopia screened at Sheffield DocFest 2024 and does not have a release date yet.