He is not a director. He’s filmmaker. That is one important thing that Binyam Berhane wants to stress when asked about his work title. The other important thing he wants to make clear is that he only represents himself and his art. So while the visitors of the CinemAfrica Filmfestival leaves the first screening of Berhane’s short documentary “Scissors in November” Urbanlife digs deeper into the mind of this young and talented observer of real life.

One of the first things you notice when talking with Binyam Berhane is his passion for filmmaking. His curiosity for how an image really got into the TV-box was one reason that encouraged him to pick up a camera when he was young. Another one was the inspiration that he and his friends got from the then unknown, but now famous, Swedish director Josef Fares.

- I remember how me and my friends used to sneak out of the lectures in school back when we were fourteen-fifteen years old, get hold of the copies to his short movies and then just sit and watch them. Since then I have always had passion for movies, especially short films and short documentaries, he says.

That passion has come to live in the short documentary “Scissors in November” who is a fifteen minute film that follows a man named Benji, in the barbershop that he owns and runs in Stockholm city. The main subject however is not the fades and the lines that the customer comes in for; instead it’s the inspiration that Benji has got from Barack Obama’s message of change. A message that is both talked about and debated with the customers.

- I wanted to show a piece of the afro-swedish culture that you usually don’t see, and also show how Obama’s message created awareness within ourselves, Binyam Berhane explains as the main premises to the movie.

Swedish movies, in Binyam Berhane’s opinion, have a lack of a more lifelike language. The slang that is used by ordinary people does not make it into the scripts that the directors use for their movies.

- I think it is old traditions among the actors and directors that stop the language of becoming more authentic but I hope that will change in the future, the 26-year old says.

Being a young black man in the film industry however doesn’t bother Binyam Berhane. He says he’s not out to represent an ethnic minority.

- In the end I can only represent myself. I’m dedicated to this type of work because I love art and because I love this method of expressing myself, he firmly states.

He also thinks that the opportunities for him as a filmmaker are more depended on the quality of his films than of potential interference due to racism and prejudice. Having said that he does tell that on one occasion the University College of Film, Radio, Television and Theatre, where Berhane studies, had invited several industry people to talk and they were all of the same ethnic background. That annoyed him a bit because he felt that the school should inspire students that don’t have the typical Swedish background and one part of that, according to him, is to meet people that you can relate to.

But with his film and as a film student Binyam Berhane is on the verge of becoming an inspiration himself. As the interview draws to an end he gives his best tip for young and driven girls and guys who want to pursue a career as filmmakers.

- Get a camera, hire one or lend a camera from your school. Go out and start filming. Just in case, bring with you four or five video cassettes, ‘cause you never know how long you going to be out there. Be prepared with a script so you know what you or your friends are going to say or do.

But most importantly, your heart should be in it and don’t be afraid to make mistakes. It’s the mistakes that will make you grow as a filmmaker!

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