LIVE AND BECOME

Director: Radu Mihaileanu
Cast: Yaël Abecassis, Roschdy Zem, Moshe Agazai, Mosche Abebe, Sirak M. Sabahat
Runtime: 140 minutes
Country: France/Israel
Language: French/Hebrew/Aramaic with English subtitles
Rating: 14A (Violence and coarse language)

Note : Because of the length of LIVE AND BECOME, the 2nd showing will be at 7:45pm not 7:30pm !

"The heartbreaking story is full of all the pains of immigration: racism, suspicion, displacement and anger. Winner of the audience prize at Berlin 2005 , VA , VIS ET DEVIENS [LIVE AND BECOME] is... well worth your time."

Deirdre Swain , NOW Magazine

A crowd favourite at the 2005 Toronto International Film Festival® and winner of the audience prize at the 2005 Berlin International Film Festival, Radu Mihaileanu's LIVE AND BECOME examines a little-known moment in modern history: the migration of the Ethiopian Jews - or Falasha - to Israel in 1984. Milhaileanu (TRAIN OF LIFE) draws from his own childhood experiences to create an engrossing and emotionally engaging film about culture, identity and belonging.

As the film begins, thousands of Africans from numerous famine-ravaged nations find themselves in refugee camps in Sudan . A cooperative mission of the American and Israeli governments called Operation Moses swoops in to take thousands of Falashas to Israel . Faced with certain death, a Christian Ethiopian mother steers her young son Soloman (Moshe Agazai) to the lineup, quietly insisting he declare himself to be Jewish. Once in Tel Aviv and officially an orphan, the newly re-named Schlomo is adopted into a Jewish family of mixed heritage and begins to familiarize himself with Hebrew, French, the Jewish faith and his new family. Though he would appear to have been rescued, Soloman's very survival depends on the perpetuation of a lie. He must cope with the constant fear of being discovered at any moment. Not only is he a Christian pretending to be Jewish and an orphan with two mothers, but as an African in a Western culture he must deal with the not-so-latent racism and prejudice simmering within his schoolmates and their families. The flight to Israel that was meant to be his salvation has instead thrown him into a den of discrimination and turmoil.

Mihaileanu has crafted an intricate, epic story (more than two hours in length) that deals intelligently and sensitively with the complexities of race and religion in a rapidly changing world. Soloman's journey to adulthood is a parable not only of contemporary Israel , but of the immigrant experience everywhere.

"Live And Become is a wonderful if challenging example of how film can be intellectual stimulation, not just escapism. One boy's story is more complex than it looks and is compelling to watch."