Lots of back-story to this one ("too much madness to explian in one text"). 

But the short version goes… 31 year old Ethiopian filmmaker Tamirat Mekonen Teklu (a New York Film Academy graduate) shot this lengthy music video for Teddy Afro (a popular Ethiopian singer and political activist). 

The 10-minute video is titled Tikur Sew (Amharic for "Black Person"), and tells the tale of the historical 1896 Battle of Adwa in which Ethiopian forces, under the leadership of Emperor Menelik II and Empress Taytu Betul, defeated the invading Italian army and secured Ethiopian sovereignty, a decisive military victory that changed the course of history.

This is Tamirat’s directorial debut since graduating from NYFA.

The website TADIAS.com has a full length profile of the filmmaker and the project which you can read HERE; notable highlights:

– The shoot took 4 days and they spend almost 3 months in post-production.

– There were 420 actors who took part in the music video, most hailing from the theatrical arts department at Addis Ababa University.

For a brush-up on the Battle of Adwa, click HERE.

And while we're waiting for the feature film version of this epic historical battle to materialize (you wish!), watch the 10-minute Tikur Sew ("black person") video below: