Zrubavel

Director - Shmuel Beru
 
2008, Hebrew, Amharic
Israel

Haifa Int'l Film Festival- First Prize for Best Drama, 2008  
Taormina Film Fest- Sicily, Italy – First Jury Award, 2009


Cast: Meir Desai, Esther Rada, Avinu Beru Tamar Imla, Daniel Beru

Itzhak Zrubavel is a boy who dreams of becoming a director of successful films; he aspires to be the future Spike Lee of Israel. Itzhak goes around his neighborhood, filming everyone and everything. From Itzhak's point of view, his neighborhood and family's stories are revealed on screen. Itzhak's family, with much optimism, migrated from Ethiopia to Israel. Despite the poor neighborhood, full of crime and drugs they call home, Itzhak's grandfather, Gite, successfully protects and unites the whole family, while providing his children and his children's children with a good upbringing. A surprising chain of events takes place undermining Gite's control over his family. The conflict is ignited by the clash of generations, specifically between the Ethiopian customs cherished by Gite and his wife and the younger generation's desire to assimilate with Israeli culture.


Photography: Gennady Kuchuk
Editing: Reut Han, Eyal Orbach
Sound: Erez Aini