Dedicated to producing high quality content for film and television
We are dedicated to discovering talent in Ethiopia and developing projects from inception to distribution for the film and television market locally and beyond.
“The potential of Ethiopia’s film and TV market are limitless.”
Mehret Mandefro | Producer/writer
Our Story
A51 Pictures was founded by the Sundance and Berlinale award-winning producer/director team Mehret Mandefro and Zeresenay Berhane Mehari, to produce content for the film and television market in Ethiopia and abroad. A51 provides development, production, research/consulting services for broadcasters and government, and distribution services. A51 Pictures produced the first five seasons of Ethiopia’s first teen drama series Yegna for Kana TV and most recently produced the feature film Sweetness in the Belly which world premiered at Toronto International Film Festival. A51 Pictures as formerly called Haile-Addis Pictures - the award-winning production company that produced the breakthrough film Difret which was the first film to win the Audience Awards at both Sundance Film Festival and Berlinale. Difret was Ethiopia’s official submission to the Best Foreign Language Film category at the 87th Academy Awards and is still screening in Ethiopia to this day. We have built a strong reputation for taking on difficult subject matter with skill and artistry and presenting Ethiopian stories to the global market. Check out our latest slate of projects across fiction and documentary here.
