>> From the Library of Congress in Washington, DC. >> Good afternoon. Good afternoon everyone. And I'm really delighted to see you all here. Especially with the circumstances, with the Jefferson building being closed. And it really is, and with our speaker coming from London to be with us. So, I'm delighted to see such a large audience. I'm Mary-Jane Deeb, chief of the African-Mid-East division, and I want to welcome you to our division, and to invite you to return as often as possible. We are a division made up of three sections, as most of you know. The African section, the Hebraic section, and the Near East section. We cover 78 countries, and we cover of them in the sense that we are responsible for collections, and for serving those collections in this room. And we don't simply collect books and journals and newspapers and so forth. But we also like to invite people to do research in this reading room. And we use our collections, and we consult with our specialists, all of whom are scholars and specialists in the region that they cover. We like to have them come here and share with us the product of their research, the books that they have done, that they have written. The articles and others. And other products. We also like to invite people from outside, who have not necessarily used our collections, but who like the gentleman today, Mike Mackonen, can give us an insight into the culture of the societies from whose collections, this division, this division's collections is made up of. So, we invite people who bring in films, who have photographs, who have artwork, that illustrate and that speak to the culture of our 78 countries. So today we have Michael Mackonen, and he's the director of a wonderfully beautiful type of film, Heaven and Earth. And we are very much looking forward to his, to the film. There's a special aspect of the Ethiopian Society, and here to introduce him is our own scholar and specialist, Fentahun Tiruneh. >> Thank you, Mary-Jane. Ladies and gentlemen, thank you for coming to this program today. Before I introduce our special guest today, I would like to make a couple of announcements. First, the forms that you see, the survey forms that you see, that are placed on your seats, please make sure that you fill them out and leave them when you leave. Give them to me, or you leave them on the information desk. This event is being videotaped for subsequent broadcast on the library's webcast and other media. There will be a formal question and answer period after the screening, during which the audience is encouraged to ask questions and offer comments. But please be advised that your voice and image may be recorded and later broadcast as part of this event. By participating in this question and answer period, you are consenting to the library's possible reproduction and transmission of your remarks. I will now introduce our guest, Mike Mackonen, Mikhail or Michael, is a British Ethiopian independent documentary filmmaker, and BBC World Service freelance regular art reporter. Mackonen completed his high school diploma at the [inaudible] Vocational School in 1988. He has his BA Hons in Communication and Cultural Studies, late 1990s, from Middlesex University, London, and a Master's degree in African Studies from the School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London. His post-graduate dissertation, Ethnicity and Nationalism in African Context, was published with Cambridge University Press in 2007. Mackonen is a recipient of BBC's skill set millennium award for his radio broadcasting project called Bridging the Gap. A program designed to focus on the life of African immigrants in the United Kingdom. In his radio broadcasting career with the BBC World Service, Mackonen produced and presented a number of programs such as Shakespeare in Amharic, Bridging the Gap, [inaudible] Jazz, biographical documentary, and interviewed numerous Ethiopians and other African musicians and artists. Mackonen made three documentary films, including the Ethiopian Thinking, a 22 minutes documentary on the brief history of Ethiopian philosophy, in 2009. In 2011, Secret Art, a history of modern art and art education in Ethiopia, from the perspective of the biography of Aller Felagasalam [assumed spelling], founder of the Modern Arts school in Ethiopia. And Heaven and Earth, Church Education and Monastic Culture in Ethiopia, in 2015. Mackonen at the moment is doing research to make a two-hour documentary on the political history of Ethiopia from 1900 onwards. Mackonen is also a qualified youth and community worker, who involves in different ethnic minority community and youth projects in London. Mackonen Mikhail is married and is a father of three. Please welcome Mackonen Mikhail. [ Applause ] >> Thanks very much for your generous description of me. Wonderful. Thank you very much. My experience in the visual media has started since 2005, when I was involved with the different youth community projects, video projects. And after that, I was involved in lots of community projects, video projects, in London. And that was the beginning. But I came across with the African cultures, I'm a cultural documentary filmmaker at the moment, independent. Mainly focused on northeastern African history and culture. This particular documentary, Heaven and Earth, is a fifteen-minute documentary on the philosophical aspect of Ethiopian history, which is church education and monastic culture. The reason why I call it Heaven and Earth, on my research, when I travel around, to the northern part of Ethiopia, the highland Ethiopia, the landscape, the beauty of the country, the color, the society, and the devotion of the people who lived in the monastery, the nuns and the priests and all that, is very heavenly. And their day-to-day life and hardship is also earth. So, I tried to just make some comparison. Heaven and Earth, so all together in that part of the land. Traveling to do this documentary in Ethiopia is very easy, because the roads are now really really good, especially when you go to the mountains and to the remote part of the church, the monasteries. But it is life-changing, and such a privilege and wonderful. I am privileged to involve with such kind of amazing documentarian journey. And I met very, very interesting individuals, spiritual people, priests and nuns and monks, and Ethiopianists, Ethiopian historians and intellectuals. And with all that I have privileged to involve in such a wonderful project. So this particular film, Heaven and Earth, as I said, dealing with the factual account of the Church education, which is the quality in Amharic, and the monastic culture, which is back to 2000 years. And it is very difficult to compile everything in 15 minutes, the architecture, the literature, the music, all together to make a 15 minute documentary. All this together is very difficult. But it is an introductory, very informative, and give some very selective ideas what is going on in the past 2000 years in Ethiopia. And the fundamental education and the fundamental philosophy. You will see on the documentary that it can show that which is a continuation. So I'm going to have a plan to make Part 2, and then Part 3, probably apart from focusing on the literature and choreography and the language. Part 3, I may go to the deeper understanding and research on the Ethiopian music, from Yared [assumed spelling] to today. That's my next project. I hope you will enjoy the film, and we are going to have a question and answer after the session, and thank you for coming. Thank you very much. [ Applause ] [ Inaudible video ] [ Applause ] >> Hope you enjoyed it. It's -- before we go into the question and answer session, I just want to give a little appreciation to people who help me when I do this documentary film. As you can see, I travel a lot, because to make different captures from different areas. And I didn't really made it as I want, because as an independent filmmaker, I fund myself. Most of the funding come from my own, and my family money. And my wife is here. I'm sure she really appreciate this now. And it's a struggle at the moment, at the time. I really thank the Habitat Preservation Authority in Ethiopia. It's a brilliant team there with [inaudible] my good friend, the former director, and Yonas Distat [assumed spelling], his successor, and some other people who actually helped with this documentary. And little funding from the UNESCO. I really appreciate that. And the Ethiopian Airlines. They been through help me even for my trip today here. They give me travel, they cover my travel costs. And they are willing to use this film to their in-flight, in negotiations at the moment. That's brilliant stuff. And I already talked with Dr. Johann [inaudible], without our time I couldn't come here. A fellow brother and an academic. We have a plan to do more work on this, because he has more content knowledge. I'm a filmmaker. I'm an artist. But with the collaboration with both of us, I hope, together to more documentary to count. And I am really, really humbled and honored to show my film in this prestigious center, [inaudible] and my [inaudible] as well. It is a privilege and I hope our relationship will, and this kind of work will be continued. And my friend Mat Andreas [assumed spelling] also here, photographing me. And never know if I look good or not for you. Show me later. That's brilliant. I'm so privileged to do this documentary. Although it's my own idea. I wrote it and directed it and produced it. But lots of people -- I can't name everybody, call everybody -- but lots of people helped me to do this documentary. My cinematographic technician is a wonderful cameraman, and the soundtrack music made by Terry Mack is an Ethiopian composer, and I really thank him as well. He's been there with me throughout. And thank you. So I'm here to answer any question you have. Thank you. >> I just wanted to thank you [inaudible]. >> Thank you. >> So I have just a general question, but I thought it might capture [inaudible]. And he said something which I thought was striking. He said, those traditions [inaudible] ancient times, but there's always something new. And I was wondering if there's something that will come again and again. It's all a tradition, but there's also something new. >> Yes. >> I wanted you to elaborate on the old and the new. >> Yes. As you can see, when I -- from the lake and cut to these small cottage student houses, and you see this door, when it is shut down, you see that tells that the religious school, in English. Never been there before. It was there. That's one of the modernities. And Amharic -- it used to be but it is now, even on liturgy in the church ceremony, on the worship also. They are now Amharic also take over. So, people now learn English in very fast paced. Youngsters in that area are speaking very, very good English. Probably better than me. That is also a sign of modernity. And of change. And on that particular premises, when I talked to the teacher, he explains in details about the levels, the criterias, of being a colo tamani [assumed spelling] or traditional student. So it is very, very fascinating, because I stayed about three four days there with the students. And I didn't put lots of pictures, because I kind of put everything for forty-five and fifty minute film. But it's so fascinating how they are really, the system by itself is very fierce, and then you have to really prepare yourself, read every day. Every second. So with a very strong repetitive reading, then you start reciting by heart. So that's one of the criteria. So difficult. That didn't change till then. There's no much difference. But the system, a little bit changed. I don't know to some extent, they said that back in the days it was very, very difficult. It was very strong. The life, the daily life is still the same. Very difficult for them. Even back in the days [inaudible], everybody, all the students, youngsters, all are surviving with begging and supported by the community. That's the same. But now and then, there are elements of things are really new. And still the same for the past 1,500 years as well. And in my next project, which I am already prepared, is to focus in detail on the education system, and the [inaudible], and the very, very fascinating. And mind-blowing investigation we're going to do when we do that. This is as an introductory. The beginning, the first part of the whole content. So that's the way. Thank you. >> [inaudible] >> Thank you. [ Inaudible comments ] >> Yes, a very good question. It is declining. I'm the witness. Because on my -- from research till I travel all this magnificent places and film and talk to the people who live there, it is declining. And my film is not only informing the heritage, the African heritage, the identity we have, to the rest of the world. Or those stereotypes, the Eurocentric ideologies. Africa is rich in knowledge. It is not always telling us that without external agents, we cannot move forward. That's not really right. That's not true, and we have to show that. These documentaries as an internalist approach -- I am an Ethiopian, although I live over 23, 24 years in England, since my young age. I'm an Ethiopian. So such kind of documentary in detail never been done by an African filmmaker, or documentary filmmaker. So for me, is a kind of research as well. This documentary, or the idea behind this documentary's identity, is not of showing all the beautiful landscape only. But look, we have this for the past 1,500 years, or 2,000 years. And we should promote that. We should embrace that. We should show to the rest of the world. Identity is a key, I think, in my concept. We should know where we come from, to know who we are. And that is why I am doing this documentary. It is -- as you can see, I didn't really emphasize it is just Ethiopian. It is Africa. It is black. And we have country, and we have philosophy, and we have education system. And that should be the center for our existence. And to move forward. And we should come together and work on that. I am always baffled when I see that it's no a single, not a single feature film made about the Battle of Accra. We always say that we're black, we have culture. We have to fight. We have to research. We have to do that. Why would it show that? That is the beginning. You did so many things in the world. The British made so many things, including the colonialism. The colonial fight. Their fight, as a positive acknowledgement. A single thing didn't do -- all this production companies and big black producers didn't do anything about the Battle of Accra. It's a shame. I'm so angry, and I'm so really, really baffled about this. So this documentary is nothing but to create awareness. Let's get together. Let's show this. Why do we always talk about the -- the Battle of Accra is a triumph of black people against imperialism, against the racism, probably. And Fascism. And everybody work for that. If we see the past history, the number of black African-Americans who registered to go and fight with Emperor Highness is amazing. If we go and check the history about this. So I am always baffled about that. So this particular film is to create awareness. >> Any more questions? I was very intrigued by one section where you showed the monastery [inaudible] participating. And these kids have [inaudible] very strict segregation in monasteries and convents. And so I'm just wondering how that comes about, and if there's an intention in traditional, where there is that segregation by sexes, and this one particular monastery where this seems to coexist. >> Yes, well-spoken. I did it deliberately. Because I select places, when I do my film. For example, people who know the prestigious centers, and people who knows that the, the well-known priest and monk. They say that why you didn't go there? Why you didn't go here? Because they know where is it the best. But my film is for the wider audience. And I see things in a way my camera sees, what is nicer and how I'm going to put or give my message on the screen. But as you said, yes. I selected that particular both sexes coexistence. And they have no problem. They live together in peace, and they pray together. There's no problem. Of course there are some monasteries that are very, very divided and only for men and only for women. Yeah. There are as well. But this is my personal selection, just to show the harmony. [ Inaudible comments ] >> What? It's been there. [ Inaudible comments ] >> Yes. [ Inaudible comments ] >> Yeah. Well. Thank you for your comment. Now as I see, on my research as well as my filming, more than education is now a universal thing. I'm not advocating to change everything in the educational system of Ethiopia to bring it to the quality. That is impossible. That is just, you will know. But what I'm trying to do, advocate, is as a classical language of peace, should be at [inaudible] tried to mention that. We should really give just a subject, because it is history, culture, identity. We should really preserve that. That is the main thing we have to rethink. Like Greeks, they preserve their language, you know? We should do that. That language is the same classic. So my point is that not to change to the high school level. No, it's not. But I understand your comment. >> Okay, I think we have to close it here. And thank you all for coming. >> Thank you very much. [ Applause ]