"1000 Stars " Director: Assif Tsahar Camera:Yael Bartana, Shai Peleg, Anat Solomon Editing: Daniel Meir Genre: Documentar/Journey

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Film Synopsis

First day we meet the traveling group Daniel Sarid, Assif Tsahar (our main people) cooper-moore and Dani Meir. Shirli Nadav the film director and Yael Bartana the video artist they are in Levontin 7 getting ready to go. It’s 4 am they have their early morning flight they loading the car with all the equipment, count mics and cables, check their laptops and make last coffee at the club which is closed but they open just for that. we introduced to the main people and the relationships between them.

Daniel and Assif both 39 years old are best friends for 25 years (they are like a married couple. 2 years ago they started Levontin 7 a music club which change the music culture in Tel Aviv, it brought to life a whole scene. Their Unique relationship and the fact that both are artist and improvised musicians it’s what sets it apart. Joining them is Cooper-Moore an African American 60 years old. He is an amazing musician who is an instrument builder and a very theatrical character. He and Assif (who plays Tenor Sax) forged a very tight friendship and has been touring in the US and Europe and recording together constantly for the past 8 years.

Daniel Meir is an expert recording and sound engineer who has a studio above the club and became a good friend with Assif and Daniel.

We are at a Dirashe village in the south of Ethiopia. it is on a hill with mud brick houses around in a very green and lush area. its dawn a group of 20 people all dressed in white are setting to go to the 1000 stars festival to represent their village. The whole village is up there is a lot of happening, noise singing flutes whistles. the group is setting out walking. they walk for a few hours until they reach a paved road. They stop and wait for a few more hours. A bus is coming it is one of the festivals busses, they picking up the different tribe groups who will perform at the festival. Everybody sings, they tie their bags on the roof of the bus and they get on it singing.

back in Israel airport with Daniel Assif Dani and cooper-moore, they are tired laughing going through security checking on the plane. They talk about all their expectations of what its going to be like their how they we setup their, talking about all the logistical problems. Of recording with no electricity and of communication.

on the bus with the Darishe people everybody is singing dancing showing off to the camera. The buss is jumping. The feeling is electric.

On the plane everybody is sleeping, Assif is on his laptop listening to music with his headphones.

On the buss its night everybody is sleeping.

We land in Ethiopia. Our group gets their bags outside someone from the festival with a big sign is waiting for them. All communication is in English. His English his horrible, They load the car and ask to go straight to ARBA MINCH the drive is long and beautiful bumpy roads.. the ethiopian driver tells them that he loves Israel that Ethiopian are one of the lost 12 tribes, he sings a traditional Ethiopian song of the heart of zion. Cooper-moore laughs he says hey I am a black jew too… .

The bus with the Dirshe people arrives in Arbe Minch. It is a big mess of a city village dirt roads people all over cows cars. Noise. The Site of the festival is on the down part of the city at the outskirts of the town. It is a dirt stadium basically a hill side, the bus passes it and a one km further there is a big flat area where many cloth tents are spread around with hundreds of people from all the 50 different tribes participating in the festival stay. It is a whole noise music drums are heard all over the place. The bus stop with the Dirashe people jumping of it…

Our group gets to Arba Minch into the whole mess. They get to their hotel on the up side of town. It a little more relax there it is beautiful watching the lake for which the town got its name because it has 40 rivers flowing into it.

They set down with their equipment and meet the festival organizer,” Chembe” they talk about the plans they have 3 people from the festival that will be with them the whole time they speak bad English but its better then everybody else. Dani and Assif job is to teach them how to record and document the music.

They arrive tent city, the backstage for the festival. You can say here is where the festival is really happening. Every tribe practice its routine, we are going through the whole moving from tribe to tribe all different costumes some practicing dances as the camera moves the music changes as the direction is faces. Inside this colorful mess, we see from afar our group from Israel setting up mics and recording. The Dirashe people.

A parade of the Amaro people leave the area and walks toward the festival area (“the stedium”) ..the are colorfully dressed some carry long spears they all give rhythm with bells tied their feet while, they walk . around kids are dancing as they march.

Dani and assif are setting up in front of the Dirashe group they try to communicate with them it’s more sign language then any other language. Its very theatrical, just to tell them when to stop and start to see they have the level set right and that everybody stands where they can be heard well.

They start their routine. they stand in half a circle (man and woman) all dressed in white with blue stripes to the side (one can imagine an old talit) and little white hats triangle shaped. each with a stick one note flute in his hand , we start at one side of the semi circle the man with the longest flute start a one note rhythm we moved to the next who has a little shorter flute and which sounds a little higher who joins him with a new rhythm on top so we move a person at a time each with a shorter stick flute until the last who has a tiny one, the sound is always focused on the person we see. we pan out all the flutes are sounding together like birds singing dance music. one person at the site joins with a low horn, a woman in the middle steps in side the semi circle and sings above the whole group.

The Amaro group is in the entrance to the stadium they walk in we see the stadium a the hill side is covered with thousand of people. The audience for the festival is mostly from the Arba Minch city people All ages they all cheer.. there is a rudimentary speaker system laud and harsh sounding. The speaker introduced the Amaro tribe in Amharic.

There is a little stage facing the hill with the audience. The tribe ignores the stage and stands in front of it on a huge carpet with star painting which the kids of the city made for the festival. One of the Amaro people takes a mic and steps forward and introduce the tribe the audience erupt like in a rock concert. Their drummers start their routine...

(back stage) Dani and assif listen to their recording with their local helpers, they talk about how and who to record next. Chembe (the festival organizers is coming over he is very happy with the sound and all the idea is to release these recordings and help raise money with it.

Chembe - “The groups who are performing are from communities which for over 100 years have been told that everything that belongs to them is wrong. Pervious Governments have tried to homogenize them. Churches have told them their beliefs are satanic. These people have diverse traditions which maintain regional antidotes, seeds and other food stuffs that have not been polluted.

Their songs and dances are performed during agricultural seasons and initiating various things in life which are religious and spiritual. Their cultural expression is directly linked to their traditional way of life, which nurtures diverse crops that are not known in much of the world. We think that this diversity is the future of mankind. Through this festival the values of communities are brought to the center stage. It is a way of being visible of making their voice heard.”

We are back at the festival each group performs for 10 minutes once a day for the 3 days of the festival. Each day at a different time. We watch the Wolaita tribe performance they have an amazing show they dance in leaps that are one meter high holding long sticks and intricate steps like painting with their feet while keeping step with the drummers rhythms..

Night back in the hotel everybody is listening to the recordings watching the footage. And talk they are impressed by Chembe words. Assif says he really feels like taking his sax out and playing with some of the musicians in the festival.

The next morning they set early up and go to the tribes camp area. They pass by the Mursi tribe they are half naked the woman have big clay plates inserted in their lips and ears. They are chanting and moving to their drummers rhythm. Next by the Hamar also one of further tribes which leaves in the south east close to Sudan in one of the harshest area. They are half naked they are painting their bodies before setting on their parade to the stadium.

An Ethiopian holding a David harp is sitting playing it and singing a song about
The festival (its translated) ‘ how special it is that everybody is their together singing and dancing not fighting. “

Cooper-moore is sitting next to him he takes out his home made fretless bango and sings a southern blues. One sings then the other they play together and laugh. In the end they burst out laughing, slap hands and hug..

Three guys carry big double headed drums on their sholders they put them down and go sit on the ground they start playing intricate woven rhythms. Assif is there he takes out he puts down his saxophone and put it out of his case. The kids around look and want to touch, he plays with the drummers wild jazz improvisations, all the kids around jump and go crazy. Daniel in the background is laughing hysterically. The drummers play wild and go faster and faster.

the lake is beautiful we see the mountains in the background, all around is very quite and serene. two elderly women sits on the bank we focus on their faces covered with deep wrinkles and old tattoo dots and lines marking her face they sing in two high voices interweaving a beautiful sad lament .

the drummers and Assif end their improvisation they communicate through an interpreter., they ask about the instrument he is playing what it is how he play it. Assif demonstrate a little bit. One of the drummers talks -– “There is no one specific Ethiopian identity. But if you take Ethiopia as a political entity, what first strikes an individual about this festival is that he has the right to come on the stage and proudly exhibits his cultural talent. Each is equally given the right to perform so immediately people. Think “look I a not the only one.

There is a different other in this country”/ the message he carries back to his area is of big significance, he tells his ethnic group about what he has seen and appreciated and tolerance comes from there, peaceful coexistence, harmony, all these develop” the other drummer (a hama man) adds “at hoe we are having a big flight with the Dasenach, Here we have to spend the night in one big hall. We are getting to know each other, and becoming friends through the music and dance. It is wonderful and unexpected.

At home it is us, the young ones who cause the fights, and there are enough of us here to perform and have this good experience to make a difference back home.” The older drummer adds “ For the last 15 20 years I have been with Hama to peace conferences and meetings in ever community, but nothing worked here. Here, they’ve become very friendly. They don’t talk one another’s language, but at this festival with music and dancing, they’re communicating with one another.. Music has a big power you can feel it here. “

night is falling everything is quieting down, back down at the city there is a night market which is open to torch light stand of food and cloths and many people all around. Daniel Assif and cooper-moore walk around the stands and they talk about the day. What an experience. how such pure expressions of emotion and art that is withno concern to style doesnot exist any more. How you can feel how music changes the people in front of you. Can you imagine such a thing happening back home ? can we make peace back in Israel like that ? it sounds like a joke. What is the difference ?

the third day is the last of the festival. Our team wakes up at down we don’t wont to miss a thing and we have to set up early. They get to the stadium with sunrise. They set up all the recording equipment . they play some of yesterdays recording through the speaker system. Chembe who is joining them and bringing coffee listens he is very happy “ this is great hope its sells and we can raise some money for next years festival”

at the tribes camp area everything is quite people are getting up, washing up in he lake. It’s like an African Woodstock there is a quite and magical atmosphere.

Cooper-moore sits with a musician from one of the tribes his mouth bow. It’s a one sting instument with a bow he puts to his mouth that he plays with a bow while using his mouth as a resonance box. The guy is amazed an laughs he joins in with a thumb piano. They jam together like that.

A group of 50 horse men in traditional garb, ride across in the direction of the stadium. They Storm the place we hear the audience roar. It’s the beginning of the final day.

We see the Mursi people performance, the audience gives them a special warm welcome. They are more shy and keep to themselves in the back stage area but in there performance they go all out. They simulate fights with long sticks dancing and jumping half naked. Their drummers keep changing pace, their performance is more like theater then all the other tribes they wear lion skins and animal mask.

At the back stage there is a big jam going everybody with an instrument takes it out and plays people dance all around Assif join with his saxophone as cooper-moore also plays his Ashimba..

After the last performance, all the performers are given torches of light its dusk and they parade toward the stadium singing playing. When they get to the stadium they pass the audience the torches, a thousand stars are lighten.
Everybody is dancing it’s a giant mad rave thousands of people of all ages they all dance sing play. Into the night to the light of the torches…

Its sunrise our group is packing the equipment, everybody is kind of quite working. We load the cars Chembe is around he brings coffee (Ethiopian is just the best) .
Talk is about nothing.. there is nothing to say that describes the last says experience.

The Deshire people load their bags on the bus they are also quite everybody is serene.
We hug and say goodbye to Chembre, we know we see him next year. We joined his mission this is a treasure for the whole world not just Ethiopia. We have to come back.

On the bus it’s night the Deshire are all mostly sleeping, one or two has their nose glue to the window looking through the darkness.

On the plane everybody is sleeping to except Daniel he has the headphones on
He looks through the window into the night, listening to the recording of the Deshires people singing….

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