SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 22 • 7:30 PM •ALEXANDER GRASS CAMPUS FOR JEWISH LIFE
RUNNING ON SAND
Israel, 2023/Comedy-drama, 104 minutes/Hebrew w/subtitles/Screenplay by Yoav Hebel, Sarel Piterman, and Assaf Zelicovich/Directed by Adar Shafran
Aumari, a young Eritrean refugee living in Israel, is about to be deported back to his home country. In the midst of a spontaneous escape attempt at the airport, he is mistaken for a newly arriving Nigerian soccer star, just signed by the Maccabi Netanya football club. Despite the absence of any soccer talent, Aumari takes his place on the team, and proceeds to do what it takes to maintain his freedom, and to reunite with his brother, whom he’s been separated from since they entered Israel.
Running on Sand was set to premiere in Israel in late October, 2023. Instead, the early screenings of this lighthearted and touching film served as a balm for groups of evacuees from the south, many of whom had suffered terrible losses in the October 7 massacre.
Winner, Best Debut Film and Best Screenplay, 2023 Haifa International Film Festival; nominated for 4 Israeli Academy Awards (Ophirs), including Best Film
Generously sponsored by the Shlomo Zalman Krevsky Fund of the Jewish Community Foundation of Central PA
