When American artist Eric Gottesman asked the children of Sudden Flowers Productions in Gullele subcity, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia to make videos with him about their lives, some of the children were afraid to show their faces on screen. After writing scripts based on their own experiences, they settled on the idea of making and using masks to represent their characters. Two videos resulted from this process: "Yabat Ida Le Lij" and "Let It End With Us."

The use of the masks recalls not only the long African history of maskmaking but traditions in the West as well: children's arts and crafts projects in school; and the 'masks' of tragedy and comedy that symbolize the theater. For Sudden Flowers, masks represented how they had been treated by society.

The Mask Videos DVD

Institutional purchase (with public performance rights) $150.00 Individual purchase $35.00 AFRICANA special $99.00