Difret

Executive producer

Along with Angelina Jolie, Lacey executive produced the award-winning drama DIFRET, based on the inspirational true story of a young Ethiopian girl and a tenacious lawyer embroiled in a life-or-death clash between cultural traditions and their country’s advancement of equal rights. When 14-year-old Hirut is abducted in her rural village’s tradition of kidnapping women for marriage, she fights back, accidentally killing her captor and intended husband. Local law demands a death sentence for Hirut, but Meaza, a tough and passionate lawyer from a women’s legal aide practice, steps in to fight for her. With both Hirut’s life and the future of the practice at stake the two women must make their case for self-defense against one of Ethiopia’s oldest and most deeply-rooted traditions. DIFRET paints a portrait of a country in a time of great transformation and the brave individuals ready to help shape it.

Called by the LA Times “compelling” ad “authentic”,  it was the first film to win audience awards at both Sundance and Berlin Film Festivals. When he hosted a screening of the film at a ---, Secretary of State John Kerry called Difret “a story of conscience and conviction that ought to inspire everybody.” Difret was used as a tool to organize for water rights in 40 villages across Africa—making a real-world impact in the lives of thousands. 

Thanks to the over 156,000 supporters that signed our Difret petition, together, we helped convince the U.S. Government to develop and deliver a coordinated strategy across multiple U.S. government agencies for ending child marriage and promoting the empowerment of adolescent girls globally.