Little known movie deals with marriage, immigration
13 Months of Sunshine is seen here as part of a gift basket after its screening December 19.
On Dec. 19, 2008, the Toronto-based Ethiopian youth group Eternal A.B.Y.S.S. (Always Bringing You Soulful Spirit) held a special screening of the Ethiopian-American film production 13 Months of Sunshine at the Bloor Cinema at 506 Bloor St. W.
The movie, directed by Ethiopian director Yehdego Abeselom, is an unconventional love story involving a green card and a coffee shop.
Solomon is an Ethiopian-born American citizen who works as a coffee barista and dreams of opening up his own traditional Ethiopian coffee house. Hanna comes to the United States from Ethiopia hoping to get a new start in life, but needs a green card to remain in the country. Their worlds intersect when Hanna’s family offers to pay Solomon US$20,000 to marry her. The immigration department requires them to remain married for a year and one month to prove the authenticity of the marriage before they issue her a green card.
What begins as a marriage of convenience quickly turns complicated as the beautiful Hanna goes into the world of modelling. Solomon finds himself becoming unexpectedly jealous of Hanna’s new agent, Morris.
The movie works as a celebration of Ethiopian culture and the traditions surrounding coffee, or ‘buna’ as it is known. In the movie, Hanna’s American agent is intrigued by the hybrid lives of Ethiopian immigrants, who integrate into the American lifestyle, yet stay close to their homeland through a strong sense of culture. This is mainly centred on coffee, which serves to unite the communities.
The filmmaker also effectively used a mix of traditional and contemporary Ethiopian music for the soundtrack.
The film drew large crowds of Ethiopian-Canadians, young and old. Hanna’s struggle to obtain American citizenship seemed to resonate with the immigrant experience of some of the audience members.
This film should also appeal to students at Centennial College, especially those who have immigrated from other countries, since they could identify with the joys and difficulties of the experience.
