Videobet Launches First Independent Cinema in Ethiopia

Beza Hailu Lemma and Bandamlak Yimenu’s Videobet Cinema, a new arthouse cinema dedicated to celebrating and advancing film culture in Ethiopia, has opened its doors to the public, marking a major milestone for the country’s growing film community. 

Videobet began as a bi-monthly curated cinema program at a local multiplex a year ago in February 2025. The initiative has, since its inception, focused on showcasing a diverse selection of Ethiopian and international independent films, while creating a space for meaningful cinematic engagement and dialogue. 

One year later, Videobet Cinema expanded its scope and moved into a permanent venue which opened on 6th February 2026, inside the Red Terror Martyrs’ Memorial Museum building, located at the heart of Addis Ababa. The new space will serve as a dedicated home for repertory screenings, discussions, and community gatherings centered on film. 

In an exclusive interview with Culture Custodian, Yimenu mentioned that the reception was better than hoped. The opening galvanized the youthful film community and showcased 13 short films of their peers. They also got to host Professor Salem Mekuria for a panel discussion after screening her 1997 documentary film Ye Wenz Maebel: Deluge. “The response definitely aligns with our goals and hopes, so many young folks are going to benefit from this space in addition to the networking they will do with similarly aligned folks in this cinema,” he said. 

The opening weekend featured a curated program of 13 contemporary Ethiopian short films, open to the public, alongside panel discussions with the filmmakers. This inaugural program underscores Videobet’s commitment to amplifying local voices while fostering critical conversations around cinema. 

The cinema emphasized the importance of critical conversation around cinema. In Ethiopia, films have a temporary life and since film criticism isn’t overly present, it is the main gap between the filmmaking output and the audience. Videobet plans to curate film criticism workshops to foster conversation around the films so they don’t exist in vacuum. “[Criticism and critical conversations] are very much needed in Ethiopia. Viewers will always want to connect or engage with the material they have just watched, be it through discussions with their friends or through reading film criticism.”

Over the past year, Videobet has curated a range of notable screenings, including the Ethiopian debut of co-founder’s critically acclaimed film Alazar (2024), an official selection at the Cannes Film Festival and Videobet’s first screening, homecomings of Faya Dayi and Finding Sally, presented with directors Jessica Beshir and Tamara Mariam Dawit in attendance, many years after the films’ world premieres at international festivals. Additional programming has included Losing Ground, Chameleon Street, Paris Texas, Ousmane Sembène’s Mandabi, and a two-month retrospective dedicated to the work of Abbas Kiarostami. 

The co-founder also mentioned that independent cinema is the only way forward to grow the Ethiopian film industry. He admitted that there’s a severe lack of funds for independent filmmakers to make feature films compared to established studios. Young filmmakers are circumventing that by making DIY shorts with their friends, and the results are varying in genre and stories they tell. “It’s only a matter of time until something breaks through both nationally and internationally. And the impact of the cinema will be that it functions as a film education site where curious minds can get inspirations or draw parallels.” 

 With the launch of its new venue, Videobet Cinema aims to continue its strong programming, further establishing itself as a vital platform for film appreciation, education, and community building in Ethiopia.