I work at the intersection of media, technology, and narrative change. This website has my long-form blog posts and op-eds. Subscribe to my newsletter The Fragile Real and I will send you an essay that provides you with creative fuel to grow and expand your horizon every month.

Pan-African Translocal Media Workshop
Mehret Mandefro Mehret Mandefro

Pan-African Translocal Media Workshop

This project grew out of Julie Mehretu’s commission to create the BMW Art Car #20. The second part of this commission is the Pan-African Translocal Exodus Media Workshop which is a rotating media arts workshop across five African cities (Dakar, Lagos, Tangier, Cape Town, and Kigali) led by esteemed media artists working at the top of their game.

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The Cost of Inheritance
Mehret Mandefro Mehret Mandefro

The Cost of Inheritance

Some projects are so special they feel like the universe is conspiring to make them with you. That’s what it felt like to make my latest project, the documentary feature film, The Cost of Inheritance.

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A New Documentary Highlights China’s Expansion into Ethiopia
Mehret Mandefro Mehret Mandefro

A New Documentary Highlights China’s Expansion into Ethiopia

A new documentary examines Ethiopia’s rapid development — bankrolled by China. On paper, the numbers are going up; on the ground, things are more complicated. The film looks at industrialization through the eyes of three women: a factory worker, a local farmer and a Chinese factory director. - Op Ed for Fair Observer

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How It Feels To Be Free
Mehret Mandefro Mehret Mandefro

How It Feels To Be Free

‘American Masters’ Filmmakers On Historical Importance & Overlooked Contributions Of Black Performers – Guest Column for Deadline

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The Revelation of Relevance
Mehret Mandefro Mehret Mandefro

The Revelation of Relevance

But if the Revolution of Relevance is about chaotic exchange, feedback, and disruption, how do we pull the signal from the noise? What is the revelation we're all chasing? After the dust settles, how will we measure whether or not our lives have changed for the better? - Op Ed for Huffington Post

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The Revolution of Relevance
Mehret Mandefro Mehret Mandefro

The Revolution of Relevance

The intrinsic asymmetry of once-conventional retail media, technologies like commercial radio and television that enabled vivid reception but could not accommodate two-way feedback or discussion, is rapidly flattening. This changing architecture is giving rise to new forms and patterns of communication that are best described as many-to-many. The result is a world governed by relevant, almost-real-time, and perpetually flowing feedback. This constant and permanent traffic of participation is the animating force of the Revolution of Relevance. - Op Ed for Huffington Post

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