Film Review: 13 Months of Sunshine (bfm film club, Feb 09)
In this heart-warming tale, Solomon (Sammy Amare) is an Ethiopian living in Los Angeles and who dreams of opening his own coffee shop. But his plans are thwarted by a lack of money. Tired of waiting, his girlfriend, the no-nonsense Meron (Salem Dawit), leaves him high and dry. In between mourning the break-up of his relationship and trying to raise finance for his project, Solomon hears about Hanna (Tsion Fikreselassie), just arrived from Ethiopia and who’s looking to enter a marriage of convenience in order to get the green card and pursue her own American dream: get an education. Hanna and Solomon are introduced, get married and thus begins the year-long naturalization process, where they have to convince Immigration Officers that their couple is not a sham. Cheating the administration is not smooth sailing, and navigating the tricky waters of friendship and love proves to be the ultimate test that Hanna and Solomon need to find real happiness.
13 Months of Sunshine, Ethiopia 2007, Dir: Yehdego Abeselom
Director Yehdego Abeselom has signed here a very fine movie: a sexy romcom that will speak to any A.L.A (African Living Abroad.) Solomon’s American dream is different from that of his father, who puts education above everything, when his son realises that entrepreneurship might be his ticket out. The beautiful Hanna is seduced by the temptations of the western world, embodied by Morris Benton (Delaine Knight), a model scout who wants to make her America’s next Ethiopian supermodel. But what sets 13 Months of Sunshine apart is how easily we travel from one world to the next. We get an insight into life in Little Ethiopia, with its underground parties, eateries and music. The actors speak Amharic and English, falling back on the mother tongue when emotions get too hot to handle. But mostly, what is pervasive is the deep love Solomon and Hanna have for their culture. They rewrite the immigrant’s tale, where America is not the final destination, but merely a stepping stone to something more fulfilling.
