Invaderbank The film creates a perfect balance between action and depth of basic needs, in the midst of an infertile atmosphere.

Jenna Walter The film may be flawed, but its message is not.

Ariella Broughton It is neither dumb nor smart enough to be fun, and spends way too much time with its boring human characters.

Zlatica One of the worst ways to make a cult movie is to set out to make a cult movie.

Elinor Overall I really enjoyed this film,and the way that it is based on a real story that happened. This film is about a young fourteen year old girl named Hirut, who lives in a poor village with her family in Ethiopia. Hirut gets told by her parents that she will have to marry an older man, whom she does want to be with, and on her way home from school one day she gets kidnapped and abducted by this man. On her escape she grabs his gun, and runs for home, but encounters the man surrounded by other men. terrified and panicked she aims the gun and shoots the man. This becomes the plot of the film when a woman named Meaza comes to Hirut and her family saying that she will be representing Hirut in court, and defend her case saying that it was an act of defense, and that she is innocent. My favorite character in the film would be Meaza who was playing as Hirut's attorney in the film, because she never gave up on her case, and on Hirut. Meaza did things that was not required from her, like taking Hirut into the city, and letting her stay in her home for a few days, because she knew that with everyone who knew the man that got shot was against her,and wanted her killed, and she wanted to protect Hirut, and also care for her. Meaza wins her case, and Hirut does not get charged with murder of the man, as it was said to have been an act of defense. My favorite scene in the film was when Hirut decided to go with Meaza,and leave her family, but then decided to go back to her family, saying that her sister will need her, and that she will never be able to live without her. I thought this film was excellent,and would give it a 5/5 stars.

Rahul Patil A bright 14-year-old girl is on her way home from school when men on horses swoop in and kidnap her. But brave Hirut (Tizita Hagere) grabs a rifle and tries to escape, but ends up shooting her captor. Meaza Ashenafi (Meron Getnet), a woman lawyer, arrives from the city to represent Hirut and argue that she acted in self-defense. Meaza embarks on a collision course between enforcing civil authority and abiding customary law, risking the work of her women's legal-aid practice to save Hirut's life. Based on a true story, the film brings to the forefront the immoral patriarchal culture of Ethiopia where the tradition is to kidnap girls to marry them. It also informs of the efforts of the gradual change brought on through progressive court laws. There are from time to time slow and dramatic overstatements, scenes that make the film 'filmy' like cranking up the score during the initial abduction of Hirut or diffusing the tension of a car chase by exiting the scene with a fade to black not long after it begins. To make the film look real everything in it is spelled out through dialogues and nothing is nuanced reducing the hangover from the movie. However, "Difret" is an undeniably powerful unpacking one of the ugliest stories imaginable making it worth your time and thought.

skinsk-1 I just caught a screening at the Jeonju International Film Festival in Korea, and I was very impressed. It was a riveting, well-edited and well-acted film about a primitive misogynistic mindset that is responsible for the abuse and deaths of women around the world. Based on a true story (probably one of the few with a relatively positive outcome) and filmed on location with an Ethiopian director and cast, Difret is educational and thought-provoking. I wish the director the best of luck bringing more material like this to the attention of the world. WELL DONE! And I recommend this film to anyone who has the opportunity to see it and support it!

yox1408 It means a lot For Ethiopian Cinema that this Film wins at sundace film festival Cause more directors can tackle this kinds of big issues in the country & i wanna say Congrats to mr.Zeresenay for his achievement & Being an inspiration for other Ethiopian and African directors .........next i want to see him to work on projects like ....emperor Minilik(The Ethiopian King Who defeat the Italian army Without Gun) & more ....Hope you don't take long time to come back.....also i want to say thanks To ANJELINA JOLIE for being one the producers in this foreign film The Acting in this film is Excellent specially Meron Getnet did a nice job.The flow & Vibe of this movie is very good