A free screening of the winning feature documentary from the 2015 Chelsea Film Festival, For You Were Once Strangers, will take place at the Abraham Hostel Bar, 21 Levontin Street, Tel-Aviv, tonight, Saturday August 13, at 20:00.
According to the creator of the film, Ruth Berdah-Canet, it is about “the untold story of a fracture, a rift within Israeli society as it tries to come to terms with a deportation order targeting 700 South Sudanese refugees. Revealing facets of an Israel that few ever see, it is the story of a spark that ignites a deeply polarizing issue: how to handle the first massive wave of illegal immigrants the young country has ever confronted. Over 65,000 Africans have flooded across the border since 2008.
Ruth Berdah-Canet and two Sudanese refugees in South Tel-Aviv (Photo: Film website)
The story unfolds through the deeply personal lens of three South Sudanese families and their community who fight the deportation back to their devastated, war-torn country. Israeli citizens from all sides are stirred to passionate debate, urgent action and increasingly violent protests. It becomes a struggle to define who they want to be both as individuals and a nation, compelling the question: Can Israel hold on to its identity as a democracy for the Jews and also maintain its humanity towards the “Other”?”
According to refugee’s rights activists: “In downtown South Tel-Aviv, just across from the Ayalon Highway and Rothschild Boulevard, there is a whole different world, almost a parallel universe. This is the world of the asylum seekers’ community, their families and children. These children have no status in Israel, no basic social or welfare rights. They are transparent, as if they don’t exist. But they are here, in dire distress, and they need our help.”
Entrance to the screening is free, but any and all donations will be welcomed. All proceeds will be dedicated to providing safe care for the children of asylum seekers in South Tel-Aviv. Ruth Berdah-Canet, the film’s creator, has donated it to fundraising efforts.
The screening of the film will be followed by a Skype conversation with Berdah-Canet.
The event in Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/events/1070309293060174
Film’s website: http://www.foryouwereoncestrangers.com
