Facing the Wall

Producers: Saar Yogev & Naomi Levari
Writer & Director: Aalam-Warqe Davidian
Israeli Distribution: Black Sheep Film Productions Ltd.
Supporetd by: Makor Film Foundation, Gelfand Fund, NFCT
Running Time: 26 Min

Surni, 14, wakes up to the first day without her love, Eli. She is in an Israeli absorption center. She keeps her eyes and ears closed, she won’t leave her bed, she just tries to shut out her new reality and pretend she never left Ethiopia.
Her family attempts to get her out of bed. As the hours go by, her mother, who was at first blind to Surni’s suffering, finds a way to reach out and helps her say goodbye to the world they left behind.

Aalam-Warqe Davidian

Graduate of the Sam Spiegel Film & TV School. Her short films were screened in many festivals in Israel and abroad, including the Jerusalem Film Festival and the Montreal Film Festival. In her films, Davidian reflects mostly on the immigration experience of Ethiopian women living in Israel.
Along with FACING THE WALL, she is currently working with Black Sheep on FIG TREE, her debut feature film.

Surni: Sapir Sinka
Mulu: Tehila Yeshayahu Adega

Director of Photography: Daniel Miller
Editor: Margarita Balklav
Composer: Ophir Leibowich
Line Producer: Stav Meron
Production Manager: Mai Tzaban
Sound Design: Shahaf Wagshel

Tel Aviv Student Film Festival 2016 – Best Independent Short award
The Jerusalem International Film Festival, 2016 – The Van Leer award for Best Short Film
Festival De Cine Africano 2017 – Best Short Film
Clermont-Ferrand FF 2017, Other Israel 2016, Palm Springs ShortFF 2017,
Toronto International FF 2017,
Toronto JFF 2017, Festival Olhares do Mediterrâneo 2017, Flickers’ Rhode Island IFF 2017, Philadelphia Jewish Film Festival 2016, Other Israel FF 2016, Mashariki African FF 2017, Tarifa-Tangier African FF 2017, Seret FF London 2017, Rhode Island Flicker fest 2017, Heartland Film Festival 2018, San Diego Jewish Film Festival 2018, Kehillah of Chester County 2018.