Yeganyahu Avishai Mekonen is an Ethiopian Israeli filmmaker and photographer living in New York whose past work includes the award winning documentary Video Flour, screened widely at international film festivals and broadcast primetime on Israel’s premiere network. He has directed, produced, written, assistant directed and acted in numerous award winning dramatic, documentary and news programs for Israeli television and international distribution.
His current projects are 400 Miles to Freedom, a documentary that explores racial and ethnic diversity in Judaism, and Seven Generations, a photography project that focuses on a dying Ethiopian Jewish oral history custom while examining the relationships between the elder and younger generations of Ethiopian Jews in Israel. For this project, Mekonen is a recipient of the prestigious Six Points Fellowship, a partnership of JDub Records, Avoda Arts, and the Foundation for Jewish Culture. He holds a B.A. in Fine Arts/Film from Tel Chai College of Haifa University/Hebrew University.