Netflix to Release Short Documentary 'an open field'
The 38-minute film by Teboho Edkins explores grief after the 2019 Boeing 737 MAX crash in Ethiopia that killed the director's brother.
Updated on Nov. 6, 2026 in Documentary
Netflix will release the documentary short 'an open field' on December 1, 2026. The film, which won the best short documentary award at IDFA 2025, chronicles mourning after a Boeing 737 MAX crashed in Ethiopia in March 2019, killing all 157 people on board.
Why it matters
The film offers a personal account of loss tied to one of the most consequential aviation disasters of recent years, reaching a global streaming audience. It centers the experience of grieving families and the local community near the crash site.
The 38-minute film is a South Africa-France-Germany co-production in English and Amharic, and it won IDFA 2025's best short documentary award. The crash that inspired it killed all 157 people aboard a Boeing 737 MAX six minutes after takeoff.
The players
Teboho Edkins
Teboho Edkins is the South African filmmaker who directed 'an open field' and lost his brother in the 2019 Ethiopia crash.
Netflix
Netflix is the global streaming service that will release the short film on December 1, 2026.
International Documentary Film Festival Amsterdam (IDFA)
IDFA is one of the world's leading documentary film festivals, held annually in Amsterdam.
The details
Directed by Teboho Edkins and produced by Don Edkins and Carine Chichkowsky, the film follows the director's family, including his father, as they continue to visit the crash site. It also documents how villagers rushed to help after the crash and how some kept a month-long vigil to protect and preserve the area.
Timeline
March 2019: A Boeing 737 MAX crashes in Ethiopia, killing 157 people.
IDFA 2025: The film premieres and wins the best short documentary award.
December 1, 2026: The film releases on Netflix.
Big Picture
The film revisits the March 2019 Boeing 737 MAX crash in Ethiopia, which killed 157 people and remains a defining case in the aviation industry's safety debate. It shifts attention from the regulatory and corporate dimensions of that disaster to the families and villagers left behind.
Viewers can watch the 38-minute film on Netflix beginning December 1, 2026, with no release through theaters indicated in the source. The film's short runtime makes it accessible as a standalone viewing.
The takeaway
Documentaries like 'an open field' show how a single tragedy can ripple through families and communities long after the headlines fade. Viewers interested in the human side of major disasters may find the film a useful companion to news coverage of the crash.
Further reading
Explore more Documentary films and coverage on Wisevoter.
Source note: This article includes information reported by The Hollywood Reporter.
