Publication: Business Storytelling and Filmmaking: The Impact of Sewmehon Yismaw in Ethiopian Cinema
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Type
Thesis
Degree
MBA
Date
2025
Authors
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
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Published Version
Abstract
This thesis considers how narrative as business and culture communication means react to filmmaking practice and industry identity from the perspective of Sewmehon Yismaw, a successful Ethiopian cinematographer. This thesis considers how the practice of narrative generally used in business and organisational life is used in Sewmehon's narrative of cinematography, and through his films, promoting Ethiopian film development, authenticity, and international representation. As follows from the grasp of the traditional business story, in addition to narrative communication impact on audience reception, this research is also concerned with imaginative leadership and cross-cultural communication in filmmaking. In a qualitative case study research design, this research weaves together semi-structured interviews with Ethiopian filmmakers, cinematographer, director,and actors, and thematic analysis of some of Sewmehon Yismaw's chosen films. They are prize-winning films for presenting traditional Ethiopian folklore stories to new-age film-making methods. This article discusses Sewmehon's method of constructing characters, symbolic characters, and emotional resonance, and how his use of culture-centred narration has influenced indigenous filmmakers and the direction of learning about Ethiopian film globally. Discovery confirms that Sewmehon's biography is neatly built and culturally authentic, and through his films, they are built into cultural diplomacy, exchange, and imagination tools. His success in the films confirms how neighbourhood stories derived from identity can cross fences and motivate lives in larger media cultures. Promptness in the convergence of ancient storytelling and modern film grammar is what the research espouses for new film cultures that require artistic genuineness as well as global legitimacy. The thesis contributes to the scholarship of African cinema, business narratives, and filmmakers as cultural entrepreneurs. Remarks by researchers on the practice of storytelling as a pervasive force that is not only beyond entertainment but is even a strangling force in industry, narratology, and national honour.