The Passengers
Directed By: Ryan S. Porush (First Feature Film) /
70 Minutes
USA, Israel, Ethiopia /
2018 /
English, Hebrew, Amharic (English Subtitles)
Documentary / Adventure; Coming of age; Drama
Territory Rights: WORLD-WIDE, USA, CANADA (English), CANADA (French), ASIA, EUROPE, AUSTRALIA, ISRAEL, EDUCATIONAL, NON-THEATRICAL
Exhibition Format: DCP
Synopsis
The Passengers tells the story of the Ethiopian Jews, and the struggle for a final, abandoned community to immigrate to Israel.
This feature documentary follows the unlikely journey of two young Ethiopian Jews – Demoz and Gezi – on a fateful trip to America as spokesmen in a grassroots advocacy campaign organized by an American educator. The pressure of representing its desperate community weighs heavy, and the campaign soon finds itself at the center of a deteriorating relationship between progressive American Jews and an increasingly conservative Israeli government. As forces in Israel mobilize on their behalf, Demoz and Gezi must reconcile unexpectedly diverging paths as an uncertain future closes in.