Faya dayi / directed, filmed, written and produced by Jessica Beshir ; a Merkhana Films production in association with XTR ; in association with Neon Heart Productions ; in association with Flies Collective.

[New York, N.Y.] : The Criterion Collection, [2022]

1 videodisc (118 min.) : sound, black & white/color ; 4 3/4 in.

A sublime work of personal vision, the debut feature by the Mexican Ethiopian filmmaker Jessica Beshir is a hypnotic documentary immersion in the world of Ethiopia's Oromo and Harari communities, places where one commodity khat, a euphoria-inducing plant once prized for its supposedly mystical properties holds sway over the rituals and rhythms of everyday life. As if under the influence of the drug itself, Faya Dayi unfurls as intoxicating, trance state cinema, capturing intimate moments in the existence of everyone from the harvesters of the crop to people lost in its narcotic haze to a desperate but determined younger generation searching for an escape from the region's political strife. The director's exquisite monochrome cinematography each frame a masterpiece sculpted from light and shadow and the film's time-bending, elliptical editing create a ravishing sensory experience that hovers between consciousness and dreaming.

Images / Video & Film

Amharic; Oromo; Semitic (Other)

September 09, 2022

Edited by Jeanne Applegate, Dustin Waldman ; original song "Kenna uumaa" written and performed by Mehandis Geleto ; music by William Basinski, Adrian Aniol, Kaethe Hostetter.

Blu-ray; region A; DTS-HD master audio 5.1; wide screen (1.78:1); requires Blu-ray player.

CC3390BD The Criterion Collection