Mehret Mandefro

Mehret Mandefro (born 1977) is an Ethiopian–American film/television producer, writer, physician and anthropologist.[1][2] She is the group leader of the Indaba Africa, a co-founder of Realness Institute[3] and co-founder of Truth Aid Media[4] and is a board member of advisors for the shared Harvest Fund.[5] She is also a Soros Fellow (2001) and in 2007 sat as one of the 41 distinguished New American panelists.[6][7] In 2016, she was honoured by Carnegie Corporation of New York as one of America's Great Immigrants.[8]

Dr. Mehret Mandefro
Born
Mehret Mandefro

1977
Addis Ababa, Ethiopia
OccupationPhysician •
anthropologist •
filmmaker
Known forDifret (2014)
Parents
  • Ayalew Mandefro (father)
  • Tsedale Mandefro (mother)
Websitedrmehret.com

Life and education

Mandefro was born in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia in 1977 and grew up in Alexandria, Virginia, US. Her father, Ayalew Mandefro, was Ethiopia's Minister of Defence and her mother, Tsedale K. Mandefro. Her family escaped to the USA after the coming of Ethiopia's Communist regime which tried assassinating her father. She attended Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology and completed her undergraduate and graduate medical degrees at Harvard University. She went on to pursue a masters degree in Global Public Health at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine as a Fulbright Scholar. She completed the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Health and Society Scholars Program at the University of Pennsylvania with a focus on the social determinants of health and went on to pursue a PhD in Cultural Anthropology at Temple University where she completed a dissertation on the formation of American health policy in the federal government.[9] She went on to train in primary care internal medicine at Montefiore Medical Center and Albert Einstein College of Medicine where she pursued research on HIV disparities among black women.[10][11]

Mandefro was also a White House Fellow in the Obama Administration.[12]

Career

Mandefro is one of the 2009 Honorees in the Black Girls Rock Awards, receiving the Community Service Award.

In March 2014, she was one of the women honoured in the International Women's Day celebration in New York City, by WomenWerk.[13] Also in 2014, she co-produced the film Difret, directed by Zeresenay Berhane Mehari.[14][15][16][17]

She co-executive produced a 2019 Zeresenay Berhane film titled, Sweetness in the Belly, alongside Adrian Sturges, Laura Bickford and Fiona Druckenmiller.[18] In the same year, the documentary she co-directed and co-produced titled, "The Loving Generation", was nominated for a Webby People's Voice Award.[19] The film was officially confirmed alongside three others to be internationally premiered at the prestigious Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF).[20]

At the 2019 Cannes Film Festival held at Palais Des Festivals, Cannes, France, she advised African filmmakers to build strategic partnerships by collaborating with one another, pointing out that other Africa countries can learn from Nollywood to improve on their film industries.[21][22]

She, alongside film director Abraham Gezahagne, in February 2020 represented Ethiopia at the Berlinale Africa Hub, whereat she presented the opportunities available in and challenges faced by the film and TV industry the country.[23]

She, alongside Alicia Keys, Lacey Schwartz Delgado, Elliott Halpern and Elizabeth Trojian, executive produced the documentary, How It Feels To Be Free, based on the Ruth Feldstein's book, How It Feels To Be Free: Black Women Entertainers and the Civil Rights Movement, directed by Yoruba Richen and is to be premiered in winter 2021 by PBS and WNET.[24][25]

Filmography
Year Film Role Genre Ref.
2021 How It Feels To Be Free Co-executive producer Documentary
2019 The Loving Generation Co-director, co-producer Documentary
Sweetness in the Belly Co-executive producer Drama
2017 Little White Lie Producer/writer Documentary [26][27]
2014 Difret Producer Drama

References
  1. "2016 Great Immigrants Recipient". Carnegie Corporation of New York. Retrieved November 3, 2020.
  2. Ogunbiade, Sanya (May 8, 2019). "Pavillon Afriques: Joke Silva, Kunle Afolayan, Rita Dominic at the Cannes Film Festival". Lailas News. Retrieved November 3, 2020.
  3. Ramachandran, Naman (July 20, 2020). "Rotterdam, Sundance Team With Realness to Support African Producers". Variety. Retrieved November 3, 2020.
  4. "Ethiopian Filmmakers Abraham Dezahagne and Yared Zeleke Selected for 2020 Realness Screenwriter's Residency". Tadias Magazine. June 26, 2020. Retrieved November 3, 2020.
  5. Thorpe, Devin (April 11, 2018). "These 3 MDs Have A Prescription For Curing Student Debt". Forbes. Retrieved November 3, 2020.
  6. "Meet the Fellows". Paul & Daisy Soros Fellowship for New Americans. Retrieved November 3, 2020.
  7. "Three Iranian-Americans named Soros Fellows". Payvand. February 22, 2007. Retrieved November 3, 2020.
  8. "Afeyan among 42 Immigrants Honored by Carnegie Corporation". Armenian Weekly. June 30, 2016. Retrieved November 3, 2020.
  9. "Cohort 5 Scholars (2007–2009)". RWJF. Retrieved November 4, 2020.
  10. "Celebrating Women's History Month 2012: Tadias Q&A With Dr. Mehret Mandefro". New York: Tadias Magazine. March 8, 2012. Retrieved November 4, 2020.
  11. Robinson, Heather (July 4, 2007). "I want to change the power dynamics in relationships". Daily News. Retrieved November 4, 2020.
  12. "NBC's Tom Brokaw Highlights White House Fellow Mehret Mandefro". New York: Tadias Magazine. June 14, 2010. Retrieved November 4, 2020.
  13. "It's "The Century of the African Woman"! WomenWerk Celebrates International Women's Day in New York". BellaNaija. March 18, 2014. Retrieved November 3, 2020.
  14. van Hoeij, Boyd (January 27, 2020). "Difret: Sundance Review". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved November 3, 2020.
  15. Selam, Tigist (February 11, 2014). "Q&A With 'Difret' Director Zeresenay Mehari and Producer Mehret Mandefro". New York: Tadias Magazine. Retrieved November 3, 2020.
  16. Thuran, Kenneth (January 21, 2014). "Ethiopian filmmaker hopes 'Difret' will make a difference". Los Angeles Times. Park City, Utah. Retrieved November 3, 2020.
  17. Rooney, Jackie (March 11, 2016). "Routine repair becomes an enlightening experience". Jacksonville.com. The Florida Times-Union. Retrieved November 3, 2020.
  18. Murphy, Niall (January 4, 2019). "#Feature: Irish films to watch out for in 2019". Scannain. Retrieved November 3, 2020.
  19. "Spotlight: Mehret Mandefro's 'The Loving Generation' up for Webby Award". New York: Tadias Magazine. April 11, 2019. Retrieved November 3, 2020.
  20. Murphy, Niall (August 8, 2019). "Four more Irish features added to 2019 Toronto International Film Festival". Scannain. Retrieved November 3, 2020.
  21. "Movie Director Afolayan decries segregation in filmmaking in Africa". PM News Nigeria. May 21, 2019. Retrieved November 3, 2020.
  22. Bada, Gbenga (May 5, 2019). "10 Nollywood stars will attend the Cannes film festival 2019 to sell African narratives". Pulse Nigeria. Retrieved November 3, 2020.
  23. Vourlias, Christopher (February 23, 2020). "Berlin: Government Support Has Ethiopian Biz Ready to Boom". Variety. Retrieved November 3, 2020.
  24. Morgan, Jullian (July 28, 2020). "PBS, Thirteen prep "How It Feels To Be Free" doc with Alicia Keys, Yap Films". Realscreen. Retrieved November 3, 2020.
  25. Jackson, Panama (February 27, 2018). "10 Thoughts on The Loving Generation Documentary About Biracial Kids Born After Loving v. Virginia". The Root. Retrieved November 3, 2020.
  26. "LITTLE WHITE LIE". DOC NYC. Retrieved November 4, 2020.
  27. "Little White Lie". iTVS. Retrieved November 4, 2020.
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