GRANDPA WAS AN EMPEROR

Documentarian Constance Marks follows Yeshi Kassa, great-granddaughter of Ethiopian Emperor Haile Selassie, as she investigates what happened to her relatives after the 1974 coup that landed most of her family in prison. While Yeshi and her older sister were thousands of miles away in a British boarding school, her great-grandfather was deposed by a revolution, setting off a harrowing chain of events that would put her parents and siblings in grave danger. Yeshi doesn't shy away from her family's complicated legacy, exploring both the darker side of history in addition to Selassie's importance to the Rastafarians, which led to her own friendship with Bob Marley. For the very first time, the royal family examines the events that led to the collapse of a 3,000-year-old dynasty and reflects on how, against all odds, they were able to survive this turbulent time in Ethiopian history. (Note adapted from Constance Marks Productions.) Executive produced by Cynthia Erivo and Solome Williams. Official Selection, 2022 DOC NYC and 2023 New African Film Festival. DIR/PROD Constance Marks; PROD Corinne LaPook. U.S., 2021, color, 92 min. In English and Amharic with English subtitles. NOT RATED

AFI Member passes accepted.

Run Time: 92 Minutes

Opening Date: Friday, May 19, 2023

Genre: Documentary