Anbessa

Asalif, aged 10, and his mother can hear the hyenas howling at night, from the forest behind their house, in the outskirts of Ethiopia’s capital Addis Ababa. The true hyenas, though, are dressed in human skin, a species of ruthless scavengers, fed on human suffering. Asalif and his mother were thrown out of their previous home, driven away by developers, who are prowling over them once again. Asalif rallies talent, determination, and fighting morale against a life of constant struggle and misfortune: in his dreams, he transforms into an anbessa (a lion in Amharic), the only animal that can drive hyenas away.