Welcome to the Mini-INPUT Taipei 2023 at the Goethe-Institut in Addis Abeba.
INPUT is a major annual event for public service media and independent filmmakers, showcasing the most unique and impactful TV programs of the past year. Through discussion and exchange of ideas, the INPUT conference challenges existing patterns of public service media and explore possibilities for innovative program production since its inception in 1977. 2023 marks the second time INPUT, the INternational PUblic Television Conference, was hosted by Taiwan's public broadcaster PTS in Taipei.
In the development of the global television industry, public service media are important pillars for credible information and pioneers in program innovation. Held every May in a selected city around the world, INPUT is an important source of inspiration for public service media producers and independent filmmakers. Based on the yearly conference, Mini-INPUTs are organized by National INPUT Coordinators or the Goethe-Instituts in over 30 countries following the INPUT conference, providing a good opportunity for exchange among TV professionals who cannot travel to the annual INPUT Conferences in the month of May.
In Ethiopia, the Goethe-Institut has been contributing to the development of this network since 2021 and can already point to remarkable successes: In 2021 a "Best of INPUT 2017-2019" showcased selected TV programs from INPUTS in Thessaloniki, Brooklyn and Bangkok, connecting TV professionals, filmmakers and film students in Ethiopia to the global INPUT network. This was followed by a Mini-INPUT in 2022, which presented TV productions from INPUT Barcelona for discussion as a capacity building measure for professionals. Delegates from Ethiopia have since been enabled to attend the annual INPUTs in Barcelona (May 2022) and Taipei (May 2023). Encouraged by these efforts, Ethiopian television directors and producers submitted film productions for program selection for INPUT, with the great result that Ethiopia in 2023 was also represented for the first time with its own television production, the film "Katanga Nation", which was presented by television director and producer
Beza Hailu Lemma in Taipei. With the official appointment of
Leul Shoaferaw as National Coordinator INPUT for Ethiopia, Ethiopia could be anchored even more firmly in the INPUT network.
The Goethe-Institut in Addis Abeba is pleased to present a selection of seventeen international TV productions from thirteen countries from the larger INPUT Taipei program to Ethiopian film experts at the Mini-INPUT Taipei 2023 from October 3-5.
The official INPUT moderator for the Mini-INPUT is
Xavier Blake, a producer and director coming from the state of South Carolina in the USA. Together with the Ethiopian National Coordinator Leul Shoaferaw and Ethiopian filmmaker Beza Hailu Lemma, the moderator will guide us through the ten screening sessions with different genres, formats, and topics to share with you their experiences at INPUT Taipei. This will provide an opportunity for all attendees to contribute their perspectives on the productions screened, and to ask and share questions relevant to public service broadcasting in the current media landscape.
INPUT 2024 will be held in Charleston, South Carolina, USA. We hope that inspired by this mini-INPUT, Ethiopia can also perform on this platform.
We wish you all an inspiring time and stimulating discussions at the Goethe-Institut Äthiopien.
