Ethiopia / 1996 / 61mins / Documentary / Amharic

Deluge is a visual essay that tells the story of Ethiopian students and their struggle to bring change in the political and social landscape during the 1970's. It is a tale in which the children of this ancient land abandoned their history, culture and identity and pinned their hopes on a foreign ideology.

Salem Mekuria

Salem Mekuria, originally from Ethiopia, is an independent writer, producer, director, videographer, and a video installation artist. Her award winning documentary films and video installations feature Ethiopian subjects and have been shown internationally. She has worked for PBS’s NOVA series and with numerous international production houses, focusing on issues of African women and development. Her film Ye Wonz Maibel (Deluge – 1996) is a personal account of the Ethiopian student revolts and their brutal aftermath. Other works include Our Place in the Sun (1988), As I Remember It – A Portrait of Dorothy West (1991), Sidet: Forced Exile (1991), Ruptures: A Many-Sided Story (2003), Imagining Tobia (2006-7) and Square Stories (2010). Among the numerous honors she has received are: a Fellowship at the Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study, Harvard University, 2005-06; Fulbright Scholar award, 2003-04; The New England Media Fellowship, 2001; the Rockefeller Foundation’s Intercultural Media Fellowship, 1995; Lila Wallace-Reader’s Digest International Artists Residency Fellowship in 1993; a fellowship at the Bunting Institute of Radcliffe College, Harvard University, 1990-92; the Massachusetts Artists Foundation Award in 1991. Salem Mekuria has also been the Luella LaMer Professor of Women’s Studies in the Art Department at Wellesley College. Learn More