​​PRESSKIT                                         among us women -በኛ በሴቶች መካከል 
​​A collaborative film about birth, empowerment and female companionship in a changing society.
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​Trailer

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​Logline

​​Despite all medical advice, young Huluager wants to give birth at home. Between tradition and modernity, patriarchal structures and the complex power of female companionship, the women and midwives in the village of Megendi wrestle with their relationship to their bodies, to each other, and to all those who want to decide for them.   
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​​Documentary Feature, 93 minutes, Cinemascope
​​Language: Amharic
​​TV-Version short: 50 Minuten
​​Subtitles: German, English, French
​​Voice-Over Versions: Ewe,  Afan Oromo, Tigrigna und Somali, Ethiopian Sign language
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​World premiere: 26.10.2021, DOK Leipzig, International Competition
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​Awards and Nominations: 
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​​Award for Best doc on survival of indigenous peoples, XXXVII Pärnu Film Festival 2023
​​Award for Best Film at XX Element Competition: Porto Femme 2023
​​Award for Best Editing at the Vancouver International Women in Film Festival (VIWFF) 2023
​​Award for Best Emerging Filmmaker, Documentary Feature at the Women's Voices Now 2023, California, USA
​​First Prize of the SIGNIS jury in the International Competition of FIDBA Buenos Aires International Documentary Festival 2022
​​Grand Prix Documentaire at Festival International du Film de Femmes de Salé in Morocco 2022, 26.9.2022
​​Honorable Mention Filmpreis Globale Perspektiven 2022 - special recommendation for educational purposes
​​Award for Best Cinematography at MIFF in India 2022 
​​Honorable Mention at 64th DOK Leipzig 2021 in the International Competition
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​​Nomination for African Studies Association Film Prize, 2023, African Studies Association
​​Nomination for Roman Brodmann Prize 2023
​​Nomination for Deutscher Menschenrechtsfilmpreis 2022, Catergory: Hochschule
​​Nomination for the VFF Production Award at dok.fest Munich 2022
​​Nomination for Students Award at dok.fest Munich 2022
​​Nomination for German Documentary Film Music Award at dok.fest Munich 2022
​​Nomination for the Editing Award 2022 at “Deutscher Kamerapreis” 2022
​​Nomination for DEFA Sponsoring Prize, FIPRESCI Prize, Goethe-Institut Documentary Film Prize, Prize of the Interreligious Jury at DOK Leipzig 2022
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​Festival History:
​​HUMAN International Documentary Film Festival – Oslo, Norway , 4 -10 MARCH 2024 
​​XXXVII Pärnu Film Festival - Pärnu, Estonia, 03 - 09 JULY 2023
​​Through her eyes Film Festival, Stuttgart, Germany, 13 MAY 2023
​​Trento International Filmfestival - Trento, Italy, 28APRIL - 07 MAY 2023
​​Global Health Film Days - Copenhagen, Denmark, 22 APRIL 2023
​​Porto Femme, Competition XX Element, Porto, Portugal, 18 APRIL - 23 APRIL
​​International Filmfestival Assen, Assen, Netherlands, 10-12 MARCH, 2023
​​Women in motion Filmfestival, Accra, Ghana, March 09,2023
​​Vancouver International Women in Film Festival, Vancouver, Canada, 07-11 MARCH 2023
​​Beirut International Women Film Festival, Beirut, Lebanon, 05-10 MARCH 2023
​​Glasgow Film Festival 2023, Glasgow, Scotland, 01-12 MARCH 2023
​​Kodex Documentary Film Festival, Berlin, Germany, 02-08 FEBRUARY, 2023
​​DocPoint – Helsinki Documentary Film Festival, Helsinki, Finland,  JANUARY 31-FEBRUARY 05, 2023
​​This Human World Film Festival, Vienna, Austria, 10. DECEMBER 2022
​​frauenstark! Film Festival, Switzerland, Basel, 03 DECEMBER 2022
​​Human Rights Film Festival Zurich, Switzerland, 2.+3. DECEMBER 2022
​​FIDBA International Documentary Film Festival of Buenos Aires, Buenos Aires, Argentina, 30 NOVEMBER - 4 DECEMBER 2022
​​Mashariki African Film Festival, Kigali, Rwanda, 27-29 NOVEMBER 2022
​​EQUIS Festival de Cine Feminista de Ecuador, Quito, Ecuador, 08-20 NOVEMBER 2022
​​Augenblicke Afrika Filmfestival, Hamburg, Germany, 03-13 NOVEMBER 2022
​​MOVE IT! Film Festival for Human Rights, Dresden, Germany, 03-09 NOVEMBER 2022
​​Afrika Film Festival Gent, Leuven, Belgium, 25-28 OCTOBER 2022
​​Portland Film Festival, Portland, Oregon, USA, 12-22 OCTOBER 2022
​​Festival International du Film de Femmes de Salé (Morocco), 26 SEPTEMBER - 01 OCTOBER 2022
​​Filmtage Globale Perspektiven, Frankfurt am Main, Germany, 15-18 SEPTEMBER 2022
​​NAFA International Ethnographic Film Festival, Romania, 7-11 SEPTEMBER 2022 
​​Film Festival della Lessinia, Bosco Chiesanuova, Italy, 19-28 AUGUST 2022
​​Kino am Meer, Rügen, Germany, 26 AUGUST 2022
​​Encounters, South African International Film Festival, 23 JUNE - 03 JULY 2022 - including workshop on intercultural collaboration
​​Zanzibar International Film Festival, Stonetown, Tansania, 16-26 JUNE 2022
​​Mumbai International Film Festival, Mumbai, India, 25-29 MAY 2022
​​Addis Ababa International Film Festival, Ethiopia, Opening Film of the festival 25/05/2022
​​DOK.fest Munich, Germany, Screening and Atelier-Conversation 05/2022
​​Achtung Berlin - New Berlin Film Award, Berlin, Germany, 20-27 APRIL 2022
​​Sehsüchte International Student Film Festival, Potsdam, Germany, 20-24 APRIL 2022
​​Festival de Cine y Derechos Humanos Donostia - San Sebastian Human Rights FF, Spain 04/2022
​​iRep International Documentary Film Festival, Lagos, Nigeria, 18-21 MARCH 2022
​​AFI Silver, New African Film Festival, Silver Springs, USA 03/2022
​​Thessaloniki International Documentary Festival, Open Horizons, 03/2022
​​Biberacher Filmfestspiele, Biberach, Germany, NOVEMBER 2021
​​Cork International Film Festival, Cork, Ireland, Screening, Case study and Workshop 11/2021 - including workshop on intercultural collaboration.
​​DOK Leipzig, International Competion, Leipzig, Germany, OCTOBER 2021
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​Awards in Production:
​​2020 German Composition Funding Award for Anna-Marlene Bicking at DOK.fest Munich
​​2017 Best Pitch at Empfang der Filmhochschulen, Berlinale
​​2017 Pitch Award of the House of Documentary, DOK.fest Munich
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​Cinema Screenings History:
​​Switzerland 
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  • ​​Fachstelle Integration Region Baden – Screening as part of the International Refugee Day - Baden, Switzerland, 14 JUNE 2024
  • ​​Ein Haus pour Bienne – StoryTELLER-Aktion, with Catering – Biel, Switzerland, 28 JANUARY 2024
  • ​​Odeon Brugg – Women's Film Days, Brugg, Switzerland, 29 NOVEMBER 2023
  • ​​Lunchkino (by Green lamp) - Kino Arthouse Piccadilly, Zürich, Switzerland, 08 JUNE 2023
  • ​​Cinema Rex, 11 FEBRUARY 2023
  • ​​CinéHalle, Film, Birth café and Ethiopian coffee ceremony,  29 JANUARY 2023
  • ​​Cinema Rex, Film with panel discussion, Birth café and Ethiopian food, 08 OCTOBER 2022
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​​Germany 
  • ​​Altes Kino Lychen, Kirchstr. 3a, 17279 Lychen - 20 OCTOBER 2024 
  • ​​Altes Kino Lychen – with Birthcafé – Lychen, Germany, 14 SEPTEMBER 2024
  • ​​Altes Kino Lychen – with Birthcafé – Lychen, Germany, 7 JANUARY 2024
  • ​​CineStar in der Kulturbrauerei Berlin –  Nuru Women e.V. – Berlin, Germany, 5 NOVEMBER 2023
  • ​​Monopol Munich – Screening, Munich, Germany – 8 OCTOBER 2023
  • ​​Monopol Munich – MittDOKS, Munich, Germany, 27 SEPTEMBER 2023
  • ​​8 1/2 Kino -  Screening - Saarbrücken, Germany - with Saarländischen Hebammenveband e.V. - - 23 JUNE 2023
  • ​​Let’s Act Vereins screening - Berlin, 27 MARCH 2023
  • ​​KoKi Freiburg - with the Guzzoni-Federer - Foundation + the critical physicians - Freiburg, 14 + 16 MARCH 2023
  • ​​Fux Lichtspiele - Hamburg, 08 MARCH 2023
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​Educational Screenings
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  • ​​University of Southern Denmark, ‘Building Stronger Universities” - Somaliland, February 2025
  • ​​University of Copenhagen, Department of Public Health, Summer school – Copenhagen, AUGUST 2024
  • ​​Sala de cine Mz14 UArtes Guayaquil – Embajada de la República Federal de Alemania, Guayaquil, Ecuador, 29 SEPTEMBER 2023
  • ​​University of Copenhagen, Department of Public Health – Copenhagen, 18 SEPTEMBER 2023
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​​Written & Directed by Sarah Noa Bozenhardt
​​Co-Director Daniel Abate Tilahun 
​​Stories by Huluager Endeshaw, Endal Gedif, Welela Assaye, Sirkalem Teshome 
​​A Creative Collaboration with The Community Of Megendi 
​​Producer Sonja Kilbertus
​​Co-Producers Hiwot Admasu Getaneh, Beza Hailu Lemma 
​​Festivals and Sales Raina Films 
​​Production Countries: Germany, Ethiopia
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​Short Synopsis

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​​In the village of Megendi, midwifery is changing. With it the question of women's self-determination. In the midst of change, young Huluager is expecting her fourth child. Despite all medical advice, she wants to give birth at home with traditional midwife Endal. But complications arise during the birth and midwives from the clinic have to intervene. 
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​​Between tradition and modernity, patriarchal structures and the complex power of female companionship, the women wrestle with their relationship to their bodies, to each other, and to all those who want to decide for them.

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​Long Synopsis

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​​Compassionate and feminist, the documentary among us women - በኛ በሴቶች መካከል speaks of the local health center's struggle against maternal mortality. The story explores the voices of women who highlight the physical, cultural and structural factors that prevent them from seeking medical care during pregnancy and childbirth.
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​​In the midst of the lively dialogue, the young farmer Huluager is expecting her fourth child. On the one hand, she regularly attends check-ups at the health center and follows the advice of the medically trained midwives. On the other hand, Hulu resists a newly established system in which she feels unheard and longs for security and emotional support. Despite all medical advice, she therefore wants to give birth at home with traditional midwife Endal. But complications arise during the birth and midwives from the clinic have to intervene.
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​​On the periphery of the central conflict, the many challenges faced by mothers and midwives in a patriarchal social structure become clear. among us women - በኛ በሴቶች መካከል brims with the resourcefulness of the women and impressively shows the complex support network they have built up over generations.
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​The Participants

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​Huluager Endeshaw

​​25 year old farmer, aspiring entrepreneur, mother of four and dreamer at heart. 
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​​Hulu is an outspoken and confident woman, who delves into her own vulnerability to process her wants and needs. Yearning for change, she openly opposes the pain she has experienced and is active in constructing her own happiness. Hulu’s presence radiates from the screen and she is the main drive for the film’s narrative.
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​Hulu’s Thoughts 
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​​“I like the check-ups and that they vaccinate my kids, but when it comes to giving birth at the Health Center - no. I think they just train on us. They will operate you, even if the baby could be born peacefully. It doesn’t feel like they care about us.”
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​​“Humans take everything from the world, but we were left behind. Now, this world will be gone soon.”
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​​“When the male midwife touched my belly to check the baby’s position, I felt a little uncomfortable. It would have been nice if a woman checked us instead. I was about to leave when I saw that it was a man doing it. But when I saw all the other mothers enter, I followed.”
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​​“My husband is not my baby’s father. Even if we can’t be together openly, I found happiness for the moment. I fell in love with someone I want.”
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​​“I chose to share my secrets in the filmmaking process because I am proud of my choices and myself. I want to tell my story and my secrets too. I have spoken to my family after the film shooting and they are supporting me. I am safe.”
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​​“I want to thank you and Daniel for sharing the film with me before showing it to the world. I feel and have always felt very respected. I can imagine how far you had to travel to come back, but you did, and I knew you would. Thank you so much for always thinking of me along the way.”
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​Endal Gedif

​​70-something year old traditional midwife, single mother of seven and comedian at heart.
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​​Endal Gedif is an attentive and caring woman, who has guided generations of mothers through labor. The responsibility and risks of her work weigh heavy on her shoulders, but Endal always has a joke to hand, using humour to spread calm and trust.
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​Endal’s Thoughts
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​​“I was only a girl when it all started. My neighbor was in labor and nothing seemed to ease her pain. Because of my personality the women called me in and when I touched the woman’s belly, the baby was born right away. They called me again and again and again. That’s how I became a midwife.”
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​​"At home women can become mothers at their own pace, in peace and with self-determination. Our ancestors have given us the knowledge and strength to pass boundaries no man will ever know.”
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​​“I don’t need a husband to be a mother. I don’t need a husband to be strong. I am mother and father, farmer and midwife. My community has to respect this and they do.”
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​​“My mother taught me how to circumcise the babies. But how can I possibly cut them with a blade? They will cry. They might hate me. The procedure itself is simple, but I am too sensitive. My stomach shivers. So I stopped it completely.” 
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​​“The ambulance has brought me some relief. I think it’s good that women have a choice now and there is help a phone call away. But when a woman asks for my support, I cannot say no. They need me too.”
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​Welela Assaye

​​28 year old medical midwife, city girl, boss on the clock, but teenager at heart. 
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​​Welela is a leading midwife at Amijaye Health Center and strictly rejects the continuation of the traditional home birth. She is determined to protect women from medical emergencies and doesn’t shy from confrontation. Commuting between the city and countryside, she hands imagery to Hulu’s longing for a different reality.
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​Welela’s Thoughts
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​​“I understand that the mothers are frustrated sometimes. It is difficult to connect with them emotionally, the way that traditional midwives do. We have many women and responsibilities to take care of at the same time.”
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​​“I would love to work in the city, have a husband and a family of my own. I was born in the countryside and want to be part of the development of my country, but I find it exhausting to exist in both spaces sometimes.”
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​​“The lack of resources and the issues with our ambulance are not only frustrating for the mothers, but also for us midwives. But somehow we are always the ones to be blamed. It takes a lot of courage to speak up.”
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​​“I always felt very safe in our female spaces when filming with you. It made me open up about personal details that I am actually quite shy to speak about. Especially the scene at the hair saloon was a blast. I had a lot of fun with this project.”
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​​“By watching our film, I have learned so much. I really thought we were making progress in communicating with the women, but the film shows me that we have a long way to go. This story is very important to enable a conversation between us and to help our cause.”
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​Sirkalem Teshome

​​30 year old health extension worker, caring daughter, single mom and medical enthusiast.
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​​Sirkalem runs the local health post in Megendi, where was born and raised. Opting for a modern look at maternal health care, she registers pregnant women, vaccinates children and teaches the community about contraception and family planning. Through her regular interactions with Hulu and Endal, she underlines the conflict between the two systems of midwifery.
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​Sirkalem’s Thoughts
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​​“These days it is reckless to give birth far away from medical support. The mothers in the village need to be aware of the risks they are taking when they deliver their child with a traditional midwife.” 
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​​“My job is my way of supporting my baby girl and my relatives. I feel happy when I can guide a woman through her early contractions and call the ambulance, but I try to keep a distance personally.”
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​​“I think it is important for girls and boys to be educated about the menstrual cycle early on. That’s why I hold the Girl’s Club at the school. If we speak about our periods and learn how to make pads, everyone - including the boys - will learn that it’s a natural part of our life. No girl should miss school because of personal hygiene issues.”
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​​“Traditional midwives like my mother and Endal were raised in a different ua. They are deeply connected to luagarmful traditions of the past and it is hard for them to let go of their internalized beliefs. That’s why we have to keep the conversation between generations going every day.”
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​​“To me it is challenging to be a single working mom with a new born. I have a full time job, but she always needs my attention too. But since I gave birth I feel more connected to women in my community like Hulu. I think we are linked now, even if we don’t share the same beliefs when it comes to maternal health care.”
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​Directors’ Statements

​​An insight into the motivation and collaboration of the directors
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​Writer & Director Sarah Noa Bozenhardt

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​​Twenty-five years ago, my parents organized a youth exchange project with circus groups from Germany and Ethiopia, relocating me between the countries for years. In 2003, we moved to Addis Ababa permanently. I would grow to be a woman in Ethiopia, and it is because of women that I found home there.
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​​When my body changed a little bit more every day, I was ashamed of the hairs sprouting in my armpits and the tugging in my chest scared and fascinated me at the same time. At first, I wished myself back to Germany, because I had the feeling that it was not common to talk about such physical and personal details in my new social environment. Today, I know that I was mistaken. It were in fact Ethiopian girls and women, who guided me through some of the toughest experiences in puberty and beyond. Together we faced the stark reality of patriarchy and abuse and simultaneously the power our female community holds for one another.
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​​As the years passed, my family grew. My Ethiopian co-director Daniel Abate Tilahun joined our home, and I gained a big brother. Together we fell in love with cinema and when we first played with the idea of initiating a film as co-directors, I felt the urge to honor the female spaces that make me feel at home in Ethiopia. Daniel on the other hand wanted to pay tribute to his roots in the countryside. So, when we traveled to visit his birth parents in his village of Megendi, and we met the traditional midwife Endal, I sensed a cinematic setting that could symbolize and capture the energy and symbiosis we were looking for.
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​​Endal’s connection to the female body and her way of supporting women in her village is grounding and elevating at the same time. When she visits a mother to be, the women speak about far more than their ongoing pregnancy. The encounters serve as empowering spaces for exchange and mutual support, very similar to the ones I experienced growing up. At the same time the women’s actions, thoughts and feelings are deeply rooted within the traditional context of rural Ethiopia and the shift in the maternal health care system threatens the familiar. As a result, valuable medical support is often rejected when traditional and modern perspectives clash. I believe it is crucial to engage in conversation across these diverse standpoints to ensure the safety of mothers and at the same time consider their emotional needs and the larger context of their actions.
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​​Similarly, it was vital to Daniel and me to acknowledge the vast variety in perspectives and privilege ever present in our international crew. We wanted to keep intimate conversations in the production process ongoing - in front and behind the camera - to ensure that I and we would have to question our own biases and power dynamics along the way. Keeping our team and especially the film’s participants at the core of this project and creating space for their individual perspectives, whilst building upon my personal relationship to the country I grew up in, was the only way I personally felt equipped to make this film. This approach became the essence of our creative work and defines the cinematic storytelling you can now see on screen. As for myself, with Daniel at my side, and among us women, I no longer feel used and small, but grown and in charge of my own body and narrative.
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​Co-Director Daniel Abate Tilahun

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​​Thirty seven years ago, I was born in the rural village Megendi in Northern Ethiopia. After a long hike, when the night was calm and quiet, my mother’s labor started. It was thanks to the support of our traditional midwife, that I was born peacefully and healthy. In a way our film tells the story of my family through the exemplary narratives from Endal and Hulu. When I watch our material, I see myself.
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​​As a young boy, my parents sent me away to the city. I was to live with my grandmother in Addis Ababa. Many of our film’s participants yearn to leave the countryside. I was fortunate enough to be one of the lucky ones. Living in Piassa (the old city center of Addis Ababa), I met a German woman in the parking lot of our apartment building. After many encounters, I started to work with Inge Bozenhardt and with time I became an integral part of her family. Today, I count myself as Inge’s and Jörg’s son. The writer and director Sarah Noa is also my little sister.
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​​In 2016 I wanted to take Sarah Noa back to my roots. When we travelled to Megendi, we encountered Endal. She is a close friend of my mother and has guided her through labor several times. I was immediately enthralled by her energy and humor. We realized that through her, we could merge the story of my village and culture with Sarah Noa’s experience of being a woman in Ethiopia.
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​​This prospect and our previous collaboration on the short film Medanit, where I had been the production manager, inspired me to pursue an education in filmmaking myself. Along the research period of among us women, I studied directing in Addis Ababa whilst Sarah Noa developed the project further. I saw this film as a chance to gain firsthand directing experience on a long-term documentary project, without carrying all the responsibilities of a director myself. For me it was important that Sarah Noa would lead the artistic aspects and production phases of our collaboration and it was clear to me that there’d be many situations where I, as a man, could not partake.
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​​I always saw it as my role to establish trust among the community and our team. I built upon my family relations and knowledge of the countryside to communicate our aims of the film to participants, the village and governmental institutions like the Amijaye Health Center. I also made sure to point out cultural norms to the international members of our team and to ensure that we acted accordingly and incorporated local production methods.
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​​At the core of the process remained my motivation to return home. But moving to Megendi meant leaving behind many of the living standards I was now accustomed to. Whenever I felt like giving up, my little sister Sarah Noa inspired me to keep going. I want to say that although foreign on the outside, Sarah Noa has become an insider. Together with this film we merged my two families into one.
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​Producer´s Statement

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​​Filmproducing has been compared to midwifery before; accompanying the making of a film from early stage until it finally sees light and connects to the outer world. If this imagery does apply, then we see our production team somewhere on the continuum between traditional and clinical midwifery. On the one hand we apply what we have learned in years of experience in the industry. On the other hand, we connect to our own deeper values. Like trusting, a sense for community, listening and tending with care to the new and unknown life that wants to emerge.
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​The Beginning
​​After the Ethiopian and German Producers and directors came together, we agreed on a few shared values. One is for sure the importance of the recognition of female strength and uncovering hidden sexism and racism through film. Then there is the longing for high production value and artistic expression. Another shared standpoint is considerate production. Together we went on a journey of constantly wrangling for our values, between financial pressure, political obstacles and intercultural challenges.
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​​Working with a German writer/director and an Ethiopian co-director with roots in the community of the participants and with a multicultural filmcrew opened a whole new learning field for both the German and the Ethiopian staff. We reached our limits a few times. Different expectations, customs and ways of approaching practical problems came up. As a group we learned to expand our skills and to overcome obstacles; to face our own biases and conditionings.
​​We took a lot of time to build the team, to overcome bureaucratic problems and intercultural barriers. The crew on location consisted of Sarah Noa Bozenhardt and Daniel Abate Tilahun from Megendi/Addis Ababa as directors, both in a double role: Sarah Noa recording location sound, Daniel as production and community manager. Bernarda Cornejo, the cinematographer comes from Ecuador, her assistant Alebal Kindu from Debre Tabor, Ethiopia. Lewam Feshaye from Addis Ababa joint as social anthropologist, Beletu Lema from Bahir Dar did the set translations. Tewodros Girma was the production assistant, Endale Wasea and Meseret Asmamawe the security guards, Mulu Tesfawe provided the catering, Tewodros and Fireawe Teshome supported in community-management. We invested in team coaching by Seble Hailu in Addis Abeba, and we regularly took, and up to this date still take time to sit down together in circles. We negotiate our needs and the project ś needs with each other. Our editor Andrea Muñoz is Mexican and german citizen, our post-production supervisor Laura Espinel and and editor´s assistant Juan Carlos originate from Columbia. We never wanted this to be „a film by Sarah Noa Bozenhardt and Daniel Abate Tilahun”. Both directors see the film rather as the team´s collective effort, which includes everyone equally. This is not just a buzzword for us, but it is also reflected in the credits and helped to invite everyone´s creativity, identification and support – and to find the energy for a longtime endeavors.
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​The Commitments
​​Before starting the filming process, we made the following agreements:
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  1. ​​We want to set up the production in a way, that the German-Ethiopian-Ecuadorian filmcrew can immerse and live together among neighbours in the village of Megendi for nine months spread over three filming blocks.
  1. ​​We strive for a balance of giving and taking with all the participants. We refrain from manipulation and we constantly reflect on power dynamics. We listen and we express. Relationship comes first. Promises will be kept.
  1. ​​We develop and follow the stories how they unfold in creative collaboration with the participants. We do not force the story written down in development onto the people in front of the camera.
  1. ​​We find a contract for every crew member, that grants personal sustainability for the time involved in the project. For Ethiopian staff this meant continual employment for 14 months.
  1. ​​Everyone´s needs matter equally, and we will negotiate with eachother until they are met.
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​​We strongly believe that these commitments and our approach prepared the ground for a film full of empathy. The commitments are reflected in all stages of production. Also in editing. We did not force a dramaturgy onto the timeline, but we allowed the material and the stories inside to unfold on the editing table. Even if that meant many more months of editing than originally expected.
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​Biographies

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​Writer and Director

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​​Sarah Noa Bozenhardt is a Freiburg-born filmmaker who grew up in Ethiopia. Sarah Noa completed her bachelor’s in Film, Video, and Integrated Media at the Emily Carr University of Art + Design in Vancouver, winning several awards for her thesis documentary MEDANIT. In 2016, she began studying documentary film directing at the Film University Babelsberg KONRAD WOLF in Potsdam. Alongside her work as a director, Sarah Noa works as a film tutor for youth and kids. among us women represents the culmination of her filmmaking training and talent, and brings together a range of international creatives, committed to intimate, thoughtful storytelling. She currently live in Germany.
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​Filmography
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​​2015 MEDANIT, Documentary 20 min (director and writer) Premiere: 2015 DOK Leipzig, International competition
​​2012 HEIMKEHR, Documentary (director and writer)
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​Awards in preproduction/production
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​​For AMONG US WOMEN
​​2017 Best Pitch at Empfang der Filmhochschulen, Berlinale
​​2017 Pitch Award of the House of Documentary, DOK.fest Munich
​​2020 German Composition Funding Award for Anna-Marlene Bicking at DOK.fest Munich
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​​For MEDANIT
​​2017 Honorable Mention for Medanit, 14th Central German Short Film Festival Kurzsuechtig
​​2015 John C. Kerr’s Chancelor Award for Excellence in Media Arts
​​2015 Sophie Burnett’s Memorial Award
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​Co-Director

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​​Daniel Abate Tilahun was born in the rural village of Megendi. When he was a boy his parents sent him to live and work in the capital Addis Ababa, where he eventually met Sarah Noa’s family. After working on the short film Medanit with Sarah Noa, he began to study directing at the Blue Nile Film and Television Academy in Addis Ababa. Before working on his co-directing debut, Daniel collected a range of production management experience for feature films. Together with Sarah Noa Bozenhardt, he spent more than five years researching, developing and shooting the film among us women in his village in Northern Ethiopia. He now lives in Addis Aaba, Capital city of Ethiopia.
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​Filmography
​​in development: MASINKO - A Musical Love Story About the musician Getachew Tamiru, a young father who connects with his newborn and himself and is Caught between memory and music, 20 min documentary
​​2021 URBAN GENESIS, Dodo Hunziker (production manager)
​​2018 FIG TREE, feature film by Alamork Davidian (production support)
​​2015 MEDANIT, short film, Sarah Noa Bozenhardt (production manager)
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​Producer - Germany

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​​Sonja Kilbertus studied film production and cinematography at the film academy, Vienna. She has had an extensive production career across fiction and documentary, both as a freelancer and under her own company, Evolution Film. It is under this company that she produced among us women, beginning work with the team in 2017. In 2022 she got nominated for the VFF production award for producing extraordinary documentary films. In 2021 she was voted head of the jury of the Swiss Canton Aargau Cultural fund. Sonja is also a volunteer in St. Johannsen prison, Canton Bern and a trainer for non violent communication.
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​​Filmography (selection)
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  • ​​(in development) RE-INVENTING LESVOS, 80 min, dir: Sonja Kilbertus
  • ​​(wip)THOSE BLUE SKIES, 70 min, dir: Adrian Kelterborn, (producer) Mira Film
  • ​​2021 among us women, 93 min, dir: Sarah Noa Bozenhardt, (producer) Evolution Film / Efuye Gela Films
  • ​​2021 URBAN GENESIS, 90 min, dir: Dodo Hunziker, (producer) DokLab
  • ​​2021 OSTROV – LOST ISLAND, 92 min, dir: Svetlana Rodina and Laurent Stoop, (producer) DokLab. Premiere: Visions du Réel 2021; winner hotdocs best international feature 2021, Guanajuato Filmfestival Int. Feature Documentary Award among others
  • ​​2021 XANAS DREAM OF THE SEA, 15 min, dir: Alexandra Kaufmann, (producer) Evolution Film, Premiere at Cinekid 2021 in Netherlands
  • ​​2019 BODY OF TRUTH, 96 min, dir: Evelyn Schels, (Swiss coproducer) DokLab, Indifilm
  • ​​2019 THE HORSE-RESCUER – SPAINS FORGOTTEN TRAGEDY, 43min, dir: Alexandra Kaufmann and Nela Märki, (producer) Evolution Film, ZDF/Arte
  • ​​2019 LAS HERMANAS DE ROCINANTE, 76 min, dir: Alexandra Kaufmann, Premiere DOK.fest Munich int. competition, audience award at Festival dei Popoli 2019, RSI, ZDF/Arte
  • ​​2019 FAIRTRADERS, 89 min, dir: Nino Jacusso, (production manager and development producer) RECK Filmproduktion, SRF
  • ​​2018 HAIRY, 52 min, dir: Anka Schmid, (production manager) RECK Filmproduktion, SRF
  • ​​2014 MATCH ME! - How to find love in modern times, 95min,  dir: Lia Jaspers, (producer, co-writer) Evolution Film, BR/Arte. Premiere: DOK.Leipzig, Verleih-DE: W-Film, Weltvertrieb: NewDocs
  • ​​2011 HAPPINESS FORMULAE, 89 min, dir: Larissa Trüby, (Junior Producer) devifilm
  • ​​2008 THE BIG BLISS AS IT WERE, 52 min, dir: Alexander Stecher, (producer) Filmacademy Vienna
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​Awards
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  • ​​2019 LAS HERMANAS DE ROCINANTE: Worldpremiere DOK.fest München 2019 int. competition, 3 Nominations; Audience Award at Festival dei Popoli, Florence, 2019
  • ​​2021 OSTROV – THE ISLAND: Hotdocs 2021, winner hotdocsbest international feature 2021, Guanajuato Filmfestival Int. Feature Documentary Award, Bernese Filmprice, nominated for Swiss filmprice, Camden International Film Festival 2021 - Special Jury Award, El Gouna Film Festival 2021 - Best International Feature Documentary Award / The Cinema for Humanity Award, Guanajuato International Film Festival 2021 - Best International Feature Documentary Award, CineEco Seia 2021 - Honorable mention
  • ​​2011 MIRRORED BY HORSES (scriptwriter), winner of the BR TELEPOOL Treatment Competition
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​Co-Producers & Impact Producers 

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​Hiwot Admasu Getaneh
​​Born in Addis Ababa, Hiwot studied electrical and computer engineering before joining the Blue Nile Film Academy. Her first short film, New Eyes (2015) was selected in Venice Orizzonti and Toronto International Film Festival. She then directed a short documentary, Letters from Ethiopia;(2016) and A Fool God (2019). She was also a lead director on YEGNA, a teenage tv drama. An alumnus of TIFF Talent Lab, Addis to Cannes, Locarno Summer Academy, Berlinale Talents, Durban Talents and Realness Residency, Hiwot is currently developing her debut feature Sweet Annoyance. 
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​Beza Hailu Lemma
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​​Beza Hailu Lemma is an Ethiopian filmmaker based in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. He has written, directed, and independently produced factual TV content and several short films, including Ballad of the Spirits (2017) and Adeby Abeba (2019). Beza was an artist in residence at the Africa Centre in Australia (2017) and the Realness Screen Writing Residency (2019) in South Africa. He has also participated in Berlinale Talents, IEFTA Addis to Cannes Program, TIFF Filmmakers Lab, Cinemart in Rotterdam and Produire au Sud. 
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​Credits

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​Written & Directed by 
​​Sarah Noa Bozenhardt 
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​Co-Director 
​​Daniel Abate Tilahun 
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​Stories by
​​Huluager Endeshaw, Endal Gedif, Welela Assaye, Sirkalem Teshome 
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​A creative collaboration with 
​​The Community Of Megendi 
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​Producer 
​​Sonja Kilbertus 
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​​Co-Producers 
​​Hiwot Admasu Getaneh, Beza Hailu Lemma 
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​Cinematographer 
​​Bernarda Cornejo Pinto 
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​Editor 
​​Andrea Muñoz 
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​​Music Composer Anna-Marlene Bicking 
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​​Sound Design Alexandra Praet 
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​​Commissioners ZDF Milena Seyberth, Claudia Tronnier, Melvina Kotios, Christian Cloos
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​A Production Of  Evolution Film
​​Coproduction Partners Germany: ZDF Das Kleine Fernsehspiel, Filmuniversität Babelsberg KONRAD WOLF
​​Coproduction Partner Ethiopia: Efuye Gela Media Productions
​​A Partnership With  East Africa Film Production and Mirafilm 
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​​With the support of Medienboard Berlin-Brandenburg, Mitteldeutsche Medienförderung, FilmFernsehFonds Bayern, Bread for the World Guzzoni-Federer Stiftung, Christina Blecher, nuruWomen
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​with the support of 
​​Medienboard Berlin-Brandenburg 
​​Mitteldeutsche Medienförderung  
​​FilmFernsehFonds Bayern
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​and 
​​Bread for the World 
​​Guzzoni-Federer Stiftung 
​​Christina Blecher 
​​nuruWomen
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​Inspirations for Journalists and Festivals 

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​​In a workshop we as a team discussed what is important for us in terms of wordings when we talk or write about the film to the public. We want to share these inspirations for your consideration. 
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​​Modern and traditional: We prefer not to pitch it as one versus the other, but rather a consideration of the change that is happening, and how that affects people in different ways. We trust the audiences can consider the situations for themselves.
​​People and relationships: The film is as much about changing systems as it is about people’s relationships to themselves and others.
​​Specificity about the place and the people: Though this is proudly a story from Ethiopia, it is not just 'a story about Ethiopia’, but about people and lives in the context of life in the village of Megendi. There has been a historical tendency in the global minority world to present a reductive viewpoint of what Ethiopia is, which we expect many viewers to have been unintentionally influenced by. This story hopes to be part of a cinematic ecosystem that presents an expanded view, as well as highlighting that Ethiopia is a diverse place with no ‘single story’,* but rather a place with a myriad of human stories that should have equal place and reverence in the cinematic world.
​​A focus on community and connection that does not 'other' our participants in the eyes of readers & audiences.
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​​*an idea explored and explained by Nigerian writer, Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
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​Quotes
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​Justification for awards
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​​CINEUROPA
​​“The co-directors aim to immerse us in the everyday life of the characters, as opposed to making an urgent, issue-driven documentary that the topic would naturally lend itself to. They take great care to show us the beauty and dignity of their lives, crafting an idyllic image, as opposed to the usual poverty porn that is often present in films about underreprestend communities
​​in the third world (...) Bernarda Cornejo Pinto's cinematography captures eye-pleasing views of the savanna and the village, complemented by the tasteful and well-measured score by Anna-Marlene Bicking.”
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​​NOMINATION ROMAN - BRODMAN - AWARD 2023, House of Documentary Film:
​​“Sarah Noa Bozenhardt, director, and Daniel Abate Tilahun, co-director, accompanied pregnant Hulu Ager Endeshaw for nine months, listening, taking their time and providing no easy answers. The coexistence of tradition and medical care is too complex. Only women have their say. They are humorous, reflective, warm-hearted and unbelievably strong in a reality dominated by hard work, in which men call the shots and wishes very often remain wishes.”
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​Audience comments
​​DR. MED SONJA BRANDNER, GYNECOLOGIST IN BERNE: 
​​"The film shows how I experienced the healthcare system in vast areas of Africa. Unlike my work as a gynecologist in Tanzania and Gabon, I felt like I was in the middle of it and very close to the women. I was very respected and respected, but there always remained an insurmountable distance between me as a "white doctor" and the local population. The film shows realistically how lives can be saved with few means. I think the film is a good introduction for colleagues before they go abroad. The film has rekindled in me the desire to sign up for a mission in Africa."
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​​FAMILY FROM SWEDEN, EVENT SCREENING AT KONO REX:
​​"We found the film insanely touching and also the questions at the dinner very inspiring. Because in Swedish culture (and generation) it's not necessarily obvious to reflect on one's birth or to seek conversation in the family. We found that very valuable." 
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​Festival Programmers
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​​MANFRED MHANDO, CEO Zanzibar International Film Festival (ZIFF), Tanzania:
​​“Your film's grandeur, beauty and vitality precedes you! Among Us Women, reaches further among us men!”
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​​DOK.FEST MUNICH
​​“Intimately and with great empathy, the film depicts the significance of female community.”
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​​FRAUENSTARK FESTIVAL; 2023
​​"Nevertheless, the film, which is now also being shown in Ethiopia, gives courage. It shows what is possible when women are given space (in a film project) to reflect their own realities. Despite patriarchal and neocolonial structures that disadvantage them, they show face and speak openly about sexual and reproductive injustices.”
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