Exodus 91: The Untold Story of Operation Solomon

As Ethiopia collapses in civil war, 15,000 Ethiopian Jews trying to escape to Israel are held for ransom by a ruthless dictator. Exodus 91 tells the story of the backroom negotiations leading up to the historic Operation Solomon, as well as the painful repercussions still felt today.

Documentary    •     2022     •     90 Minutes     •     ENGLISH & HEBREW W/ENGLISH SUBTITLES

Synopsis

A docu-narrative film that tells the story of Asher Naim, an Israeli diplomat caught between worlds and facing a crisis of faith in himself and his country. Asher, a North-African Jew himself, is sent to Ethiopia to negotiate the escape of 15,000 Ethiopian Jews from a country collapsing under famine and civil war. Working with his Ethiopian-Israeli colleagues who, themselves, immigrated to Israel a decade earlier, Asher and his partners begin to question if the Israeli government is serious or using the operation as part of an elaborate publicity stunt against claims that “Zionism is Racism.” With rebel forces closing in on the capital, Asher’s faith in his mission is put to the test as he navigates the treacherous world of bureaucracy and politics in Ethiopia, Israel, and the US.

Exodus 91 takes viewers behind the scenes – and behind the spin – of Operation Solomon, the diplomatic and military mission to bring thousands of Ethiopian Jews to Israel in the midst of Ethiopia’s brutal civil war. The feature-length film explores challenging questions of racism, white saviour-ism, homeland, cultural identity, the politics of immigration, and the hardships of these immigrants, and those that followed them, to this day.

CREDITS

Director: Micah Smith
Executive Producers: Ari Naim, Gideon Naim, Micah Smith, Raphael Shore
Co-Executive Producers: Shmuel Katz, Morrie Silverman
Written By: Eitan Anner
Costume Design: Rachel Ben Dahan
Music By: Erez Aviram
Edited By: Gilad Inbar
Production Design: Izaq Ronen Wasserstein
Director Of Photography: Amos Raphaeli

AWARDS

Audience Award – Boston Jewish Film Festival, 2019

Rising Star Award – Canada International Film Festival, 2019

Best Foreign Feature Ecodocumentary – tiNai Ecofilm Festival, 2019

Green Planet Award – Rhode Island International Film Festival, 2019

Best Environmental Film – New Zealand Mountain Film Festival, 2019

Best Humanitarian Award – LifeArt Film Festivall, 2019

 

Testimonials

"Exodus 91 is a fascinating exploration of critical issues pertaining to Ethiopian Israelis, the Israeli government and Jews worldwide. Exodus 91 is a window into the story of Operation Solomon that brings people from around the world into some of the most significant national and global conversations we're having today."
Roni Dessie Akale
Director-General of the Ethiopian National Project
"I thought the movie was brilliantly done! Award winning on all fronts."
Michael Levy
Chicago
"Exodus 91 is a remarkable re-telling of one of the most remarkable events in Israel's history..."
Yossi Klein Halevi
Author and Journalist
"The film is very impressive in portraying the miraculous rescue operation and thought provoking regarding the absorption challenges that lie ahead."
Amos Avgar
Former executive director of the International Development Program of the American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee (JDC)

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