18 Nov Announcing the Two Ethiopian Producers selected for the Great Lakes Creative Producers Lab 2025
For a third year, IEFTA extends its collaboration with the Great Lakes Creative Producers Lab, a project development lab for creative producers from East and West Africa, and are sponsoring the attendance of two Ethiopian filmmakers at the 5 day film development program that aims at broadening the professional networks and producing expertise of participants through a series of hands-on workshops and one-on-one sessions with local and international industry mentors.
IEFTA have sponsored the attendance of Frehiwot Berhane and Melkamu Haile spotlighting the current projects that they are working on.
Producers and their Projects
Frehiwot Berhane (Ethiopia)
PRODUCER
Frehiwot Berhane, is an Ethiopian producer and director, and the co-founder of Qene Films — a studio dedicated to telling thoughtful, visually precise stories from Ethiopia. Her work blends structure, care, and rhythm to capture the emotional truth within everyday life. As COO of Qene Films, Frehiwot leads both the creative and strategic directions, guiding projects from concept to completion. Over the years, she has worked as a creative producer, executive producer, and director across narrative, documentary, NGO, and branded projects.
She is also passionate about building sustainable production systems, mentoring emerging talent, and bridging Ethiopia’s stories with audiences around the world.
PROJECT
Frehiwot’s recent film, The River (2024) is a poetic short she executively produced that explores women, water, and generational ritual.as screened at SXSW London and UrbanWorld.
Melkamu Haile (Ethiopia)
PRODUCER
Melkamu Haile is a screenwriter and film director from Ethiopia. He is a fellow participant in the Talents Durban program in 2025.
With filmmaking training from the MultiChoice Talent Factory in Kenya, he directed a short film and a feature film during the program. He also worked as a screenwriter for the adaptation TV series “Love unto Crypt” adapted from the well-known Ethiopian novel of the same title. Additionally, Melkamu was the head writer for the telenovela drama “Etshiwot” for two seasons which streamed on Abol TV, an Ethiopian DStv channel.
PROJECT
Currently, he is working on his feature film project 3.8, a film born from his journey and the struggles of Ethiopian youth navigating an education system that silences dreams.
About Great Lakes Creative Producers Lab
Great Lakes Creative Producers Lab is a project development lab to bring together creative producers from East and West Africa. This program is meant to address some of the challenges that exist in the film ecosystem across Africa where the role of a creative producer is not always well understood. Their mission and goal is to increase the number of creative producers in Africa, equip producers with the required resources and tools, to strengthen their skills in the film development stage in order to create greater opportunities and access to the global markets.
To find out more, visit the Great Lakes Creative Producers Lab website.