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TEZETA

TEZETA tells the story of a small, country-less community of Armenians and their contribution to Ethiopian musical culture in Addis Ababa's old city center of Piassa. With the unexpected royal adoption of 40 Jerusalem orphans by Emperor Haile Selassie and their role as the first Ethiopian imperial band, these orphans would make way for the popularization of brass instruments, the composed music of the country’s first national anthem by Kevork Nalbandian, and in later decades led by his nephew Nerses, a jazz revolution that sweeps the country before descending into the throes of the strict musical censorship laws under the communist Derg regime. 


TEZETA reveals a uniquely Ethiopian musical story the was once lost to memory, told through first-hand accounts with music researcher Francis Falceto, Ethiopian jazz greats Alemayehu Eshete, Mulatu Astatke, Girum Mezmur, Sammy Yirga as well as Vahé, the only performing Ethiopian-Armenian singer in Addis Ababa today.

Featuring one of the last interviews with singer Alemayehu Eshete, music producer Ameha Eshete, director Abate Mekurya and one of the last performances of mandolinist Ayele Mamo, TEZETA opens a door to a melodic light of memories to a bustling jazz club now gone, a beloved teacher who was the "godfather of Ethiopian modern music", and a golden musical era forgotten by many.

  • Aramazt Kalayjian
    Director
  • Garegin Papoyan
    Director
    Bon Voyage
  • Aramazt Kalayjian
    Writer
  • Aramazt Kalayjian
    Producer
  • Vahan Khatchatryan
    Producer
  • Marie Claire Andrea
    Producer
  • Shahe Ouzounian
    Executive Producer
  • Melik Karapetyan
    Executive Producer
    Chnchik
  • Andranik Sahakyan
    Director of Cinematography
    Tonratun, Homecoming
  • Mulatu Astatke
    Key Cast
    Broken Flowers
  • Alemayehu Eshete
    Key Cast
    Revolt of the Soul
  • Ameha Eshete
    Key Cast
    Revolt of the Soul
  • Vahe Tilbian
    Key Cast
  • Girum Mezmur
    Key Cast
  • Samuel Yirga
    Key Cast
  • Project Title (Original Language):
    TEZETA | ትዝታ| MEMORIES | ՅՈՒՇԵՐ
  • Project Type:
    Documentary, Feature
  • Runtime:
    1 hour 39 minutes
  • Completion Date:
    April 15, 2024
  • Production Budget:
    180,000 USD
  • Country of Origin:
    Ethiopia
  • Country of Filming:
    Armenia, Austria, Ethiopia
  • Language:
    Amharic, Armenian, English
  • Shooting Format:
    Digital
  • Film Color:
    Color
  • First-time Filmmaker:
    Yes
  • Student Project:
    No
  • Addis International Film Festival
    Addis Ababa
    Ethiopia
    May 15, 2024
    Ethiopian Premiere
    Audience Choice Award, Official Selection (Opening Night)
  • Golden Apricot Film Festival
    Yerervan
    Armenia
    July 8, 2024
    National Premiere
Director Biography - Aramazt Kalayjian, Garegin Papoyan

ARAMAZT KALAYJIAN
Aramazt Kalayjian was born May 7th, 1982 in New York, U.S.A. He studied at Pratt Institute in Brooklyn, New York where he received his Bachelors in Fine Arts in Communications Design. He is a debuting his first film in the music documentary, TEZETA, which was shot over the course of a decade.

Kalayjian's prior film work had focused on advertising before attending the Maysles Institute in East Harlem, centering on studies in independent documentary filmmaking. He later directed the music video for the music performer, Vahe, which received continental recognition in Africa.

Kalayjian currently lives in New York and Yerevan working on a screenplay for a taxi driver anthology that weaves a city together through a panoply of taxi driver experiences, as well as a documentary about the global obesity epidemic despite modern medicine and cultural shifts regarding nutrition.

GAREGIN PAPOYAN
Garegin Zhirayr Papoyan was born on June 30, 1985 in Yerevan, Armenia. He studied in Armenian State University of Economics and worked in the sphere of communication for 10 years.

Garegin has over five years of experience in documentary photography. He has worked as a cinematographer for various TV programs and films at the TV channel Shoghakat for a year. Garegin shot his first documentary short film in 2015 called Skhtorashen. In 2021, Garegin completed his next film, his first feature documentary, Bon Voyage. His upcoming feature documentary, Tezeta, which he co-directed, is completed and due for release in 2024.

Currently, he is working on the documentary feature, Searching for Cinema, which will be ready for release in 2025. In addition, Garegin continues to contribute to film culture, working on film restorations of classic Armenian cinema, such as Land of Nairi, House on the Volcano, and Lur-da-Lur.

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Director Statement

I started on this film because I truly felt I had come across an incredible story. The course of Ethiopia's musical history changed forever with the adoption of 40 Armenian orphans to serve in Emperor Haile Selassie's palace. This led me to take what I had just recently learned at the documentary filmmaking intensives at The Maysles Institute in Harlem, NY and to start crafting a treatment, shooting footage, fundraising to get the story out there. When I met Garegin, our productions co-director, we embarked on capturing the soul of Addis Ababa by filming the old city center of Piassa, which is now completely demolished in favor of more modern buildings. What we captured is truly now only a memory.