- Welcome to POV.
I'm Pete Schwaba, host of PBS Wisconsin's Director's Cut.
Plant-based products are used everywhere in our society.
Tonight, the trend continues
as we bring you a plant-based film
titled Fayi Dayi.
Faya Dayi looks at the effects
of Ethiopia's most lucrative cash crop
known as Khat,
and the effect this plant has had on the country's history.
When chewed, Khat is thought to transport one
to a state of mild euphoria.
At this point, I'm not sure if I should wait
for you to finish Googling "Khat" or continue...
so I'll continue.
Ethiopians have used Khat to help them achieve
what's known as "Merkhana,"
which is described as a similar high one attains from cannabis.
At one point, the plant was used for religious meditation
and by those seeking eternity.
Faya Dayi shows us that nowadays,
Ethiopians use Khat for the same reasons
people use any other drug,
as a form of escapism from the harsh realities
of crushed dreams, emotional pain, political oppression
or just to tune out the real world.
Brooklyn-based director Jessica Beshir
takes viewers on a visual spiritual journey
into the highlands of the city of Harar in Ethiopia,
where Khat usage is prominent.
Beshir grew up in the walled city of Harar,
but she and her family were forced to flee
due to political tyranny when she was just a teenager.
In a recent interview, Beshir explained that during her visits
back to her native land, she noticed that the spread of Khat
had become all-encompassing.
The influence of the plant and it's effectS on her country
inspired her to try to give viewers
what she calls "a cinematic Khat-like high."
Beshir shot in black and white,
providing a mesmerizing visual effect,
giving her film, at times,
a dreamlike and transcendent quality.
In addition to directing,
Jessica wore many other hats on the project
including those of writer, producer, and cinematographer.
The plant-based Faya Dayi is her feature film directorial debut
and it starts now on PBS Wisconsin,
your home for independent film.