After its World Premiere in Ljubljana in October and its United States premiere in Austin, Texas, the new hybrid documentary-narrative film Exodus 91 from Jewish media non-profit OpenDor Media will be featured at the annual Sidgyada Festival on November 27.
Directed by Micah Smith, the film tells the complex story of the 1991 airlift of Ethiopian Jews to Israel.
Founded by Exodus 91’s lead actor, Shai Ferdo, the Sidgyada Festival is a four-day celebration of Ethiopian culture that has been taking place in Tel Aviv since 2011. The festival was founded during the social protests of 2011 as a means to focus on the culture and customs of Ethiopians in Israel as well a means to the fight against racism and discrimination against them.
As part of the festival, Exodus 91 will take 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 film touches on critical issues related to the immigration and absorption of the Ethiopian Jews in 1991 that are still relevant today: issues such as racism; who defines who a Jew is in a Jewish state; and simply how to absorb a nation with their own customs into a broader society while helping them to maintain a connection to their story.
The film screening will take place at Beit Tsiyonei America (ZOA House)
For tickets: https://www.eventer.co.il/exsodus91_sigdiada
