Duka's Dilemma

Duka's Dilemma
[dukas-dilemma--Film-list-image]
© Lydall / Strecker
87 minutes / Colour / 2001
Directed by
Jean Lydall Kaira Strecker

Anthropologist Jean Lydall

Country of production Germany

Filmmaker and anthropologist Jean Lydall has been making films with the Hamar community of southern Ethiopia since the 1970s. In 2001 she returned with her daughter and grandson to follow the continuing life story of Duka. Candid interviews reveal the complex family dynamics when Duka’s husband, Sago, takes a second wife, Boro. This film provides an intimate and personal family portrait that captures Duka’s ambivalence at sharing her home and husband. The quiet suspense is only heightened when Duka’s mother-in-law starts stirring up trouble. The high points of the film include the birth of the new wife’s child, and heated dispute between the mother-in-law and her son, which leads to the building of a new house.

Language and subtitles Hamar and English with English Subtitles

Location(s) depicted Southern Ethiopia

Region North and Northeast Africa

Country Ethiopia

Keywords Family / Kinship Marriage Gender Role and Identity