In the project ‘Deepening democracy through citizen participation in Ethiopia’, a film-maker and researchers assessed perceptions about democracy and its challenges, in Ethiopia, asking: who is responsible for deepening democracy yet further in the country. “In addition to conducting research and making policy recommendations, we want to put forward a persuasive argument in favour of everyday democracy and public-political engagement that speaks to Ethiopian realities and gets people thinking differently”, says filmmaker Arsema Worku, who has long championed the role of art in conveying complex lives. The result is a short film about how democracy starts in the family, called ‘Political beliefs, social relations: democratic realities in Ethiopia’.