Zemene, a full-length documentary produced by Melissa Donavan, follows a spirited 10-year old Ethiopian girl, Zemenework (Zemene), as she fights to keep hope alive and survive her life-threatening condition of Kyphosis, a severe curvature of the spine. Set in the beautiful countryside of Ethiopia, the story begins in Zemene’s small rural village of Belessa, and follows her incredible five-year journey, beginning with a chance encounter with Dr. Rick Hodes and an opportunity for a life-saving spinal surgery, her road back to health, her blossoming awareness as she views firsthand the value of education, and her quest to use her miraculous fortune and newfound knowledge and experience of the larger world to enhance the lives and opportunities of those in her own small village.
Zemene movingly depicts how individuals offering help to children in need can have a ripple effect, transforming not only individual lives, but communities as well.