A shot of a scene from the film

In what was known as ‘Operation Moses' thousands of Ethiopian Jews were secretly airlifted to Israel from Ethiopia in 1984, and a film has emerged depicting the operation which also follows one boy's journey from Ethiopia to Israel and his life there. Every Ethiopian who ends up in a foreign country has a story to tell or has a story to be told by somebody else. And the film - Live and Become - is a story about a young Ethiopian - who was forced by his mother to disguise himself as an Ethiopian Jew for the purpose of settling in Israel for good - as told by a French film director - Radu Mihaileanu.

The film is a journey through the life of an Ethiopian from the time he had to flee his native at the age of eight up until he reaches adolescence. It is a film that adheres to stereotypical ways of telling African stories and from a westerner's point of view. The 1984 famine in Ethiopia is what caused the boy to end up in Israel and graphic depiction of a dry and dusty land with destitute people on it makes it too corny. It shows how individual's lives are transformed because of western connections whereas Ethiopia as a country is depicted as a stagnant place with absolutely no sign of transformation.

But overall, it is a story of hope, perseverance and sometimes of success. Also highlighted is Ethiopian Jews' confrontation in Israel with racism and their efforts for acceptance as descendants of Solomon and members of the Jewish belief system. The film is on show at Nova Cinemas in Australia.