8th Annual Sheba Film Festival – NYC

CELEBRATING THE CULTURE AND HERITAGE OF ETHIOPIAN JEWS
Across the River
SUNDAY MAY 15TH 2011 3pm

Synopsis:
Moshe Rahamim (Tesgau Mahari) carries a great burden. For years he has been explaining and preaching, and yet, the pervasive HIV virus keeps killing in his community. Against the “silencing” policy of the Public Health Authority and the denial of the Ethiopian community, Moshe sets out to expose the disease and stop it from spreading. He goes back to Ethiopia, where he finds thousands of Ethiopians, waiting for years in compounds, where they are exposed to the HIV virus, to fulfill their dream and immigrate to Israel.
6 Hancock Place, New York NY 10027 (West 124th Street between St. Nicholas and Morningside Avenue)

TUESDAY May 24th 2011 7:30PM
Director: Curt Fissel (Uganda/USA 2010), 40 min, English
Synopsis:
Living in the lingering wake of the Idi Amin regime of terror and intolerance, Christian, Jewish, and Muslim Ugandan coffee farmers challenged historical and economic hurdles by forming “Delicious Peace” Cooperative. Their mission was to build harmonious relationships and economic development, and they are succeeding. Partnering with a Fair Trade US roaster, the farmers’ standard of living is improving, peace is flourishing, and their messages of peace and fair wages are spreading to their coffee customers in the US.
JCC Manhattan 334 Amsterdam Ave, at 76th St.
Admission: $10

Twilight Revelations: Episodes in the Life & Times of Emperor Haile Selassie
THURSDAY MAY 26TH 2011 7PM
Director:Yemane I. Demissie (Ethiopia/USA 2009), 58 min, English subtitles
Synopsis:
Ethiopia’s last emperor Haile Selassie (1892 – 1975) is to this day revered by the million-strong Rastafarian community. Yemane I Demissie’s documentary explores and analyzes watershed events during the reign of the Ethiopian emperor. Using a wealth of archival footage and photographs, the film reexamines the imperial administration through the eyes of numerous individuals who played important roles in the monarchy.The observations and narratives of these individuals shed new light on the personality, leadership style and humanity of the last and final Ethiopian emperor.
515 Malcolm X Boulevard, 135th St
DOUBLE FEATURE

Millennium Ethiopia
Director: Benjamin Mandell (Ethiopia/Israel 2010), 27 min, Amharic, English subtitles
Synopsis:
Ethiopia enters the new millennium on September 11, 2007 nearly eight years after the rest of the world. The celebrations are riotous. Desaly Goshu left his birthplace of Ethiopia seventeen years ago. As a young boy, his family immigrated to Israel for the opportunity to live in their holy land. Now for the first time, Desaly is returning to Ethiopia to
remember his past and to celebrate the coming of a new era.
FOLLOWED BY
These are My Names

Synopsis:
Ethiopian Jews’ multiple names reflect the richness, wisdom and beauty of their culture — and every name tells a story. In the film, young Ethiopian Israelis share their journeys toward their names: stories of love and connection, survival and loss, anger and pride. The characters’ original names – changed without their consent upon arrival in Israel – take them back to their childhoods in mountain villages, to the hunger and fear in Sudan, to longing for loved ones who died or disappeared on the journey to Israel, to denial of their identity…and reclamation of their roots.
236 Kane Street Brooklyn, NY 11231
Followed by Q&A

The Many Faces of Yisrael
Opening reception Sunday June 5th 2011 5:00PM
163 west 125th Street. 2nd Fl
Harlem NYC
ID is required to enter building
Free Admission
In conjunction with the International Agency for Minority Artists Affair (IAMAA)
Available for viewing from June 5th to June 26th 2011