Teza director Haile Gerima, pictured here at the Venice Film Festival in September, wasn't in Ouagadougou to pick up his award. (Joel Ryan/Associated Press)

A film about the brutal regime of Ethiopian dictator Mengistu Haile Mariam took top prize at Fespaco, Africa's biggest film festival.

Haile Gerima's Teza won the Golden Stallion of Yennenga for best film on Saturday at a ceremony in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso.

The film blends past and present in the re-telling of Mengistu's life — from studying science in Germany in the 1970s to establishing one of the bloodiest reigns in Africa.

"Haile asked me to convey his happiness," said Selome Gerima, the director's sister, who also co-produced the film. Haile Gerima, now based in the U.S., could not be there to pick up the award.

The jury lauded Teza 's effortless weaving of multiple themes such as emigration, racism, the role of women and war.

It took 14 years for Teza — which captured best screenplay at the Venice film festival last year — to come to the screen.

During Mengistu's reign — which began a few years after a coup overthrew Emperor Haile Selassie in 1974 — thousands of intellectuals, professionals and opponents of the regime were killed during the "Red Terror" campaign in 1977 and 1978.

Mengistu fled the country in 1991 and has been living in exile in Zimbabwe.

Algerian comedy gets third place

South Africa's Nothing but the Truth, by John Kani, nabbed second prize. Adapted from a play, Kani's movie chronicles a librarian's experiences with racism before and after the apartheid era.

The Bronze Stallion was handed to Algeria's Mascarades (Masquerades ), a comedy about a boy who creates an imaginary suitor for his narcoleptic sister.

A film about political oppression, Nos lieux interdits (Our Forbidden Places) by Moroccan Leila Kilani, captured the documentary category, while Le Fauteuil (The Armchair ) by Burkina Faso's Missa Hebie nabbed the audience award.

More than 300 films were screened at the 21st edition of Fespaco.