CPH:DOX 2026 - Wax & Gold

The magnificent Hilton Addis Ababa hotel was built by Ethiopia's Emperor Haile Selassie at the dawn of Africa's momentous 1960s. Today, it stands as a monument to both his dreams of progress and the self-image of power. From her luxurious hotel room, Beckermann delves deeper and deeper into Ethiopia's complex history in search of a truth that turns out to be full of cracks.

Through archive footage of the emperor, contemporary encounters in the hotel lobby, and her own reflections as a European woman in Africa, she finds more contradictions than answers. Wax & Gold moves between the familiar and the foreign, between fact and fiction. Outside, the hotel's splendor stands in sharp contrast to the harsh reality of the city, where workers queue for the bus and unfinished high-rises form a patchy skyline.