Distributor: Menemsha films Director: Radu Mihaileanu
Screenwriter(s): Alain-Michel Blanc, Radu Mihaileanu
Cast: Sirak M. Sabahat, Yaël Abecassis, Roschdy Zem, Moshe Abebe, Raymonde Abecassis, Mimi Abonesh Kebede, Roni Hadar, Rami Danon, Moshe Agazai
In Amharic, Hebrew and French with subtitles.
Running time: 140 minutes

Live and Become is a film co-written (Alain-Michel Blanc) and directed by Radu Mihaileanu (Trahir, Train de vie) about the journey of Schlomo, an Ethiopian boy raised as a Christian, who flees to Israel as a result of the massive airlift of thousands of Ethiopian Jewish refugees in what was known as “Operation Moses”. During the Ethiopian civil war, about 10,000 Ethiopian Jews from the Gondar region of Ethiopia were airlifted, between 1984 and 1985 to Israel. There are four main theories surrounding the origins of the Beta Israel: (1) That they me be the lost Israelite tribe of Dan, (2) descendants of Menelik I, son of King Solomon and Queen Sheba, (3) descendants of Ethiopian Christians and pagans who converted to Judaism centuries ago, or descendants of Jews who fled Israel for Egypt after the destruction of the First Temple in 586 BCE and eventually settled in Ethiopia.

In the film, a 9 year-old Schlomo is not supposed to board the rescue flight, however, when a Jewish boy meant for the flight dies, Schlomo secretly takes his place. Schlomo is instructed to never reveal his true identity.

The film follows Schlomo’s journey for identity, as a young man who is both Black and presumably Jewish. He experiences first hand racial prejudice by those who refuse to accept him as an authentic Jew. The irony of the film is that Schlomo is supposed to be a Christian posing as a Jew. Nevertheless, there are numerous scenes in the film that touch upon the racial discrimination experienced by Ethiopian Jews, such as when Schlomo’s adopted mother, a French-Israeli named Yaël, scolds parents who do not want Schlomo to attend school alongside their children. Throughout the film. Schlomo yearns to reunite with his birth mother, Hana. His longing to reconnect is an enduring aspect of the film.

I found myself engaged throughout the film as I watched Schlomo hurt, love, and triumph. Winner of such awards as the César award for Best Writing at the César Awards, the Label Europa Cinemas, Panorama Audience Award, and the Prize of the Ecumenical Jury at the Berlin International Film Festival, Live and Become is a deeply layered film touching on such themes as belonging, love and connectedness, discrimination, and identity. To learn more about the film, click here.