‘POV’ Observes the Complexities of Chinese Influence in Africa Through the Lives of Three Hard-Working Women in Made in Ethiopia
Overview
Brooklyn, N.Y. – July 1, 2025 – POV, the multi-Emmy® and Peabody Award-winning documentary series, presents Made in Ethiopia, a timely observational film that follows three women navigating a rapidly changing society as Ethiopia’s largest Chinese-run industrial park attempts an ambitious expansion. Co-directed by first-time feature filmmakers Xinyan Yu and Max Duncan, and produced by Yu, Duncan, and Tamara Dawit, the film offers an intimate, on-the-ground perspective on globalization and industrialization through the eyes of those most affected.
While the impact of industrialization in Africa is often analyzed by journalists, policymakers, or academics, Made in Ethiopia centers the voices of three women, capturing their personal experiences at a pivotal moment in the country's development. As experienced journalists covering China for more than a decade, Yu and Duncan have seen firsthand how industrial growth has transformed lives—both positively and negatively. Their transition from journalism to filmmaking marks a powerful shift in storytelling as they turn their lens on Ethiopia, a country with deep cultural roots and striking parallels to China’s economic model.
Garnering several awards throughout the 2024 film festival season, Made in Ethiopia will make its national broadcast premiere on Monday, July 14, 2025 at 10pm (check local listings) on PBS Television. It will then be available to stream until September 12, 2025 at pbs.org, and the PBS App. Now in its 38th season, POV remains America's longest-running nonfiction series on American television.
When a massive Chinese industrial park lands in rural Ethiopia, a dusty farming town finds itself at the new frontier of globalization. The park’s driven Chinese director, Motto, is determined to launch a second phase that could generate 30,000 manufacturing jobs for young Ethiopians. The stakes are high: Ethiopia is banking on the Chinese growth model to alleviate widespread poverty, while China sees the country as a key hub in its Belt and Road Initiative—the largest global investment plan in history. But not everyone is convinced. Local villagers, like farmer Workinesh, are waiting for full government compensation and must weigh the promise of economic prosperity against the cost to their land and way of life. Meanwhile, workers like Beti struggle to escape the poverty cycle.
Filmed over four years with remarkable access, Made in Ethiopia captures two worlds on a collision course—an industrial machine powered by progress, and a vanishing countryside rooted in tradition. Through the lives of three women, the film probes the tension between tradition and modernity, economic growth and social welfare, and asks what development really means for a nation and its people. Featured in the film are participants Betelihem "Beti" Ashenafi, Motto Ma (Ma Futao) and Workinesh Chala.
“China’s growing impact on Africa and the wider Global South is one of the most important issues of our time, but one that is too little understood,” said co-director Max Duncan. “With Made in Ethiopia, we wanted the microcosm of one industrial park to show audiences not just how Chinese investment works, but also what it means for individuals, communities, and their environment.”
“We came into filmmaking as journalists, driven by a sense of urgency,” said Xinyan Yu, co-director, Made in Ethiopia. “While the film is about China and Ethiopia, it's also a story of three women navigating the tides of industrialization. We shot nearly 500 hours of footage over the course of four years. As the process unfolded, our storytelling grew more grounded and collaborative. We learned a lot off-camera and deepened our connection with our protagonists, whose stories resonate with many public media audiences around the world.”
“Made in Ethiopia showcases the resilience of Ethiopian women who are navigating the ongoing changes of global industrialization in their communities,” said Chris White, Executive Producer, POV. “Through this film, we aim to immerse viewers in the experiences of women enduring everyday challenges that come with working for a foreign-driven economy.”
Made in Ethiopia made its world premiere at the 2024 Tribeca Film Festival, where it garnered a Special Jury Mention. The film was an official selection of the Warsaw International Film Festival (2024) receiving a Special Jury Mention; Planet in Focus International Film Festival (2024) winning Best International Feature; Sheffield DocFest (2024); Hong Kong Asian Film Festival (2024); Tallinn Black Nights Film Festival (2024); and Hot Spring International Film Festival (2024). The film was also a 2025 SIMA Awards Finalist.
Raves include:
“A compelling narrative about how Chinese influence in Ethiopia impacts both expats and native people. The camera is patient and probing, and the story weaves in political and social context successfully… Should be able to start many conversations about these topical issues.”
– Murtada Elfadl, Variety
Made in Ethiopia is a Hard Truth Films, Dogwoof and Gobez Media production. The directors are Xinyan Yu and Max Duncan. The producers are Xinyan Yu, Max Duncan and Tamara Dawit. The cinematographer is Max Duncan, and the editors are Biel Andrés, Jeppe Bødskov and Siyi Chen. Xinyan Yu and Max Duncan are the screenwriters. Music is by Ali Helnwein. The co-producers are TDog (Dogwoof) and Gobez Media, and the field producers are Sura Abera Amayu, and Goush Fissehatsion Girmay. The executive producers are Anna Godas, Oli Harbottle, Susan Jakes, Mehret Mandefro, Roger Graef, Erika Dilday, and Chris White for American Documentary.
Photos
Download Made in Ethiopia photos.
Click Made in Ethiopia Press Kit to access the festival press notes.
Credits
Directors: Xinyan Yu, Max Duncan
Producers: Xinyan Yu, Max Duncan,Tamara Dawit
Cast/Participants: Betelihem "Beti" Ashenafi, Motto Ma (Ma Futao),Workinesh Chala
Executive Producers: Anna Godas, Oli Harbottle, Susan Jakes, Mehret Mandefro, Roger Graef, Erika Dilday and Chris White for American Documentary
Screenwriters: Xinyan Yu, Max Duncan
Cinematographer: Max Duncan
Editors: Biel Andrés, Jeppe Bødskov and Siyi Chen
Music: Ali Helnwein
Co-producer: TDog (Dogwoof)
Field Producers: Sura Abera Amayu, Goush Fissehatsion Girmay
Languages: English Mandarin, Amharic, Oromifa
Countries: USA, Denmark, UK, Canada, South Korea
Year: 2024
About the Filmmakers
Xinyan Yu - Director, Producer, Screenwriter, Made in Ethiopia
Xinyan Yu is an Emmy®-winning journalist and documentary filmmaker with nearly 15 years of experience crafting intimate, character-driven films across continents. From factory floors in rural Ethiopia to wildfire zones in Hawaii, she specializes in vérité and investigative storytelling that blends cinematic intimacy with journalistic rigor through a deeply human lens. A former BBC producer and now an independent filmmaker, Xinyan has directed and produced work for major broadcasters including PBS, BBC News and NHK. Her recent projects include Made in Ethiopia, which premiered at the 2024 Tribeca Film Festival, and Maui’s Deadly Firestorm for PBS Frontline, which won her an Emmy® Award. Xinyan is a New America National Fellow, Firelight Media Doc Lab Fellow, and a Yaddo Residency alum.
Max Duncan - Director, Producer, Screenwriter, Cinematographer Made in Ethiopia
Max Duncan is an award-winning filmmaker, cinematographer, and journalist whose work has appeared on platforms including the BBC, PBS, The Guardian, The New York Times and Al Jazeera. He worked for a decade in China, first as a video journalist for Reuters news agency in Beijing and then independently, exploring the country’s meteoric rise from many angles. He has since reported widely across Asia, Africa, Europe, and Latin America. His Pulitzer Prize-supported short, Down from the Mountains (2018), which profiled a family pulled apart by labor migration in rural China, won a World Press Photo Award. He is an alumnus of Yaddo and Logan Nonfiction programs.
Tamara Dawit - Producer, Made in Ethiopia
Tamara Dawit, an Ethiopian-Canadian filmmaker and alumna of Berlinale Talents and EAVE, has produced films such as Girls of Latitude (2008), Grandma Knows Best (2014), Finding Sally (2020: Hot Docs), Alazar (2024: Critics Week Cannes) and Made in Ethiopia (2024, Tribeca, Sheffield) through her company, Gobez Media. Currently, she's actively involved in producing a diverse range of dramatic and documentary projects. In 2021, Tamara was a TIFF Producer Fellow, winning the Doc Institute Vanguard Award and the Gordon Parks Award for Black Excellence in Filmmaking. She's also a Chalmers Arts Fellow (2023) and a MacDowell Fellow (2024).
About
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Produced by American Documentary, POV is the longest-running independent documentary showcase on American television. Since 1988, POV has presented films on PBS that capture the full spectrum of the human experience, with a long commitment to centering women and people of color in front of, and behind, the camera. The series is known for introducing generations of viewers to groundbreaking works like Tongues Untied (1989), Hearts of Darkness: A Filmmaker's Apocalypse (1992), Rabbit in the Room (1999), Of Civil Wrongs & Rights: The Fred Korematsu Story (2001), Made in L.A. (2007), American Promise (2013), Not Going Quietly (2021), While We Watched (2022), A House Made of Splinters (2022), The Last Out (2023) and the mini-series And She Could be Next (2020). Throughout its history POV has featured the work of award-winning, innovative filmmakers including Jonathan Demme, Laura Poitras, Nanfu Wang, Frederick Wiseman, Emiko Omori, Janus Metz Pedersen and Ava DuVernay. In 2018, POV Shorts launched as one of the first PBS series dedicated to bold and timely short-form documentaries. In 2024, Indiewire named seven POV films in its roundup of “The 50 Best Documentaries of the 21st Century”: Faya Dayi (2021), The Mole Agent (2020), Minding The Gap (2018), Cameraperson (2016), The Look of Silence (2015), The Act of Killing (2013) and After Tiller (2013). All POV programs are available for streaming concurrent with broadcast on all station-branded PBS platforms, including PBS.org and the PBS App, available on iOS, Android, Roku streaming devices, Apple TV, Android TV, Amazon Fire TV, Samsung Smart TV, Chromecast and VIZIO. For more information about PBS Passport, visit the PBS Passport FAQ website.
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