Archive of films Live and Become / Va, vis et deviens

France / Israel / Italy / Belgium
2005, 146 min

Section: Horizons
Year: 2005

A young Ethiopian experiences a wretched anabasis in his quest for ethnic and religious self-determination. In order to save his life, his mother has Shlomo deported as a child to Israel. Here, adopted by a French family, he pretends he is an Ethiopian Jew - a Falash. Burdened by having to conceal his identity, he struggles for his own human dignity right up adulthood.

Synopsis

Thanks to his false Jewish identity, a nine-year-old black Ethiopian manages to escape from a refugee camp in the Sudan, where he would have died of starvation. His mother - a Christian - smuggles him into a rescue transport for Ethiopian Jews known as Falash, who are offered asylum in Israel (“Operation Moses” in 1984). Under a different name, Shlomo finds it hard to get used to the new surroundings. He misses his mother and refuses to adapt to the collective with whom he is in constant conflict. However, his adoption into a harmonious family environment pacifies him somewhat, although he continues to suffer complexes in concealing his true origins. Before Shlomo grows up, he experiences difficulties trying to integrate in his quest for his true — human — identity: racist attacks, Judaism and the war in the occupied territories. He studies medicine in France before he is finally able, now a man and himself a father, to return to his roots.

About the director

Radu Mihaileanu (b. 1958, Bucharest) is a French director of Romanian and Jewish descent, the latter determining his artistic creed. He studied direction and film editing at the I.D.H.E.C. in Paris (1983). Before directing his own films, he worked as a screenwriter and assistant director (for Marco Ferreri, Fernando Trueba, Nicole Garcia etc.). He won a Debut Award at Montreal for his feature debut Trahir (1993). His second film The Train of Life (1998) was also hailed by the critics. The film won numerous awards, e.g. the FIPRESCI at Venice, the Donatello award in 1999, a César nomination in 1999 for Best Screenplay and Best Actor. The film was screened in the Horizons section at the KV IFF in 1999. The film Live and Become (2005) was inspired by the authentic story of an Ethiopian who, pretending to be a Jew since his childhood, was deported to Israel where he endured a wretched journey in search of his idenity.

Contacts

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About the film

Color, 35 mm

Section:	Horizons

Director:	Radu Mihaileanu
Screenplay:	Radu Mihaileanu
Dir. of Photography:	Rémy Chevrin
Music:	Armand Amar
Editor:	Ludo Troch
Producer:	Marie Masmonteil, Denis Carot, Radu Mihaileanu
Production:	Elvézir Films, Oï oï oï Productions
Cast:	Yael Abecassis, Roschdy Zem, Moshe Agazai, Mosche Abebe, Sirak M. Sabahat
Contact:	Playtime

Guests

Francois Yon

Buyer, Sales Agent

Radu Mihaileanu

Film Director