Finding Sally – A Deeply Moving and Personal Documentary

Throughout the years, the documentary form of filmmaking has been used as a primarily outlet for filmmakers to tell autobiographical stories or to explore their own family history. Documentaries have also commonly been used as a form of activism, as many acclaimed documentarians infuse politics and social issues into their films. Tamara Mariam Dawit’s directorial debut Finding Sally is both inherently political and deeply personal. As insinuated by the title, the film follows Dawit’s journey to learn about her long lost aunt Sally and connect with her familial roots. It is a fascinating and heartbreaking tale that skillfully merges politics and personal history.

In Finding Sally’s first pivotal moment, Tamara confesses to her aunt Menbere that didn’t know of her Aunt Sally’s existence until the age of 30. This surprises Menbere, as she mentions that Sally is in multiple family photos and has been mentioned in several childhood stories. However, this conversation conveys to the audience that Sally’s story is full of pain and tragedy and one that the members of her immediate family often don’t speak of. This pivotal scene establishes the film as an outlet for Tamara to discover her family’s complicated history.

Through interviews with her aunts and Sally’s closest friends, Tamara presents a portrait of life in Ethiopia and the political turmoil that was developing during the mid-1970s. Sally and the rest of her family had a very different experience growing up than the majority of people living in Ethiopia. Sally’s father was a diplomat, so her and her siblings were exposed to politics at a very early age. Throughout their adolescence, they attended schools in different countries including Canada, which helped helped them further develop their political views. Sally in particular developed very strong political ideologies and was becoming increasingly enraged with Ethiopia’s government. She eventually became very invested in the revolution and disappeared, having very little contact with her family. Finding Sally ventures deep into Sally’s political journey and explores her dedication to fighting for what she believed in, even when it put her in dangerous situations.

From a filmmaking standpoint, Finding Sally doesn’t necessarily break any new ground and it isn’t quite as emotionally powerful as certain other documentaries that tackle similar subject matter. However, what makes this such a fascinating film is its personal nature. Through interviews with Sally’s sisters and closest friends, they recount her story in a very detailed fashion and it’s clear that learning about her aunt and the sacrifices she made to fight for peace in Ethiopia is having a significant impact on Tamara.

In the end, Finding Sally is a moving and important documentary that is certainly worth watching.

*still courtesy of Catbird Films*

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Tristan French