MERQANA OFFICIAL TRAILER

"Merqana" explores the social universe of qat, cutting through an only apparently ordinary day in the plant's commodity chain. It follows the fascinating work of Ramadan, a young farmer; Jarso, a successful merchant; and Amir, a young religious leader with a passion for long chewing sessions and traditional Sufi chants. The film unfolds the ways this little-known plant has become extremely popular among the people of Harar, becoming the main source of income for poor farmers and wealthy businessmen. Qat was chewed for centuries in the Horn of Africa and beyond, but has only recently become a major cash crop for farmers in Ethiopia, and a popular commodity in many countries around the world. As a consequence, qat is a powerful means of economic and cultural exchange between East Africa and the diasporic communities living in Europe and in the US. "Merqana" was entirely shot in and around the walled city of Harar, Ethiopia. Founded around the 7th century by Muslim migrants from the Arabian Peninsula, Harar was the main city on the trade route linking Yemen to the heart of Africa. Isolated from the rest of the region soon after the realization of the Djiboutian-Ethiopian railway, Harar and the nearby night market of Awoday remain the cultural, economic and political capitals of qat, being the plant cultivated mostly in their surroundings. a film by DAVID CHIERCHINI-MATTEO KEFFER-DAVIDE MORANDINI http://www.leavesofthehorn.com/merqana/