We kindly ask that you do not post this campaign on social media unless directly requested, given the current sensitivities of embarking on the film. Please feel free to share the link privately with people in your network who may be interested in supporting. 

Story:

My name is Sarah Elliott - and I’m asking for your support to make my first feature documentary called Besela or “the Scar” in Tigringa, about a place and moment in history that people know very little about. 

In November 2020, war broke out in Northern Ethiopia between the Federal Government and the Tigrayan regional armies. From July 2021, I was on the ground with the UN Refugee Agency working in Tigray - a remote northern province of Ethiopia, as part of the humanitarian response to millions of people displaced or affected by the conflict. I would also later respond to the spillover of hostilities into neighboring regions, and as the conflict mutated from a civil war to an international one. 

Shortly before I arrived in Tigray, a complete siege was imposed on the region that would last nearly three years. I lived with the entrapped community as they lost access to electricity, internet, phone reception, fuel, medicine, and other basic necessities, including food. Even the UN struggled to deliver aid, and foreign embassies couldn’t evacuate their citizens.

People died from preventable diseases and malnutrition. Some died by suicide to escape their hunger or the guilt of not being able to feed their families. There was almost no international coverage of the extent of the disaster because no journalists were given access, and in my role - I could not speak publicly about what I saw. In April 2023, I experienced a mental health breakdown and was evacuated to Australia. The depth of my sadness at leaving, along with the guilt of abandoning the community, ate away at me as I sat thousands of miles away in the comfort of my parent’s home in Perth. 

Besela will not take sides or place blame - nor compete for attention with the daily saturation of violence we see on social media. Rather, it is our attempt to step into the inner worlds of those who get swept up in the madness of conflict and who pay the highest price of war. We hope that by doing so, we can a) create an audience connection between the international community and the people of Tigray who desperately need your help, b) spark honest conversations across Ethiopia to break the cycle of inter-regional or inter-ethnic violence, and c) create a narrative tool for reflection about the causes and consequences of conflict worldwide.

The nurse, doctor, and bishop seen in our video are people dear to me who went to great lengths to care for their community in its time of greatest need, and who are eager to bring attention back to the enormous rehabilitation and recovery effort needed. The idea to include a politician (Getachew Reda) and a former child-soldier (Shewit) - was to paint a 360-degree view of the people at the heart of every conflict and to help us answer the burning questions: why did this happen, what now and who cares? 

I will make this film with talented local Tigrayan filmmaker Ammanuel Hailemariam, and award-winning LA based documentary filmmaker Jonny Stern, who has his own special connection to Tigray. This film is the result of a joint vision and commitment we each share to telling this story, having been in discussion as a core creative team now since mid-2023.  

The world is on fire - and we feel strongly that there is no better way for us to throw water on the embers than by making this film. Because even the organisations best placed to respond couldn’t — but we still can. 

Your donation will go towards:

Funding our return to Tigray to continue pre-production/production of Besela over the summer (June - August 2025)

Payment to our local film crew, including Ammanuel, a translator, sound operator, gaffer, production assistant, and others as needed —creating opportunities for local talent and helping to support the Tigray economy

Covering essential production costs 

Financial support for our key protagonists to feel comfortable and supported as active participants in the film

Funds to support a critical surgery for one of our protagonists—a former child soldier—so she may regain the ability to walk and reclaim her mobility

Post-production costs to ensure this film is one that reaches a wide audience and creates a lasting impact

Thank you for believing in this film, in the people of Tigray and in us. Whatever you are able to contribute will go a long way and is deeply appreciated.