Live & Become
Synopsis
1984. Hundreds of thousands of Africans from twenty-six countries hit by famine amass in refugee camps in Sudan. Israel and the United States undertake a huge rescue operation (Operation Moses) to transport thousands of Ethiopian Jews (Falashas) to Israel.
A mother of Christian faith makes her nine-year-old son pretend he’s Jewish so as to save him from famine and death.
The child arrives in the Holy Land. Declared an orphan, he’s adopted by a French Sephardic family who live in Tel Aviv. He grows up fearing that his double lie and secret will be revealed: neither Jewish, nor orphan, he’s simply black.
He discovers love, Western culture, and Jewish faith along with racism and war in the Occupied Territories. He becomes Jewish, Israeli, French and Tunisian – a true Tower of Babel.
But he never forgets his real mother, who remained behind in a camp and who he secretly and stubbornly dreams of finding again one day.
Credits
Director (1)
Actors (11)
Production and distribution (6)
- Executive Producer : Elzévir Films
- Co-productions : France 3 Cinéma, Oï Oï Oï Productions
- Foreign production companies : K2 Productions, RTL Belgium, Transfax Films, Cattleya, SCOPE Pictures
- Associate producer : Backup Films
- Film exports/foreign sales : Playtime
- French distribution : Les Films du Losange
Full credits (20)
- Executive Producers : Denis Carot, Marie Masmonteil
- Screenwriters : Radu Mihaileanu, Alain-Michel Blanc
- Director of Photography : Rémy Chevrin
- Music Composer : Armand Amar
- Assistant Director : Olivier Jacquet
- Editor : Ludo Troch
- Sound Recordist : Henri Morelle
- Costume designer : Rona Doron
- Foreign producers : Marco Chimenz, Marek Rozenbaum, Giovanni Stabilini, Itai Tamir, Ricardo Tozzi
- Associate producer : Geneviève Lemal
- Co-producer : Radu Mihaileanu
- Assistant Operator : Alexandre Szabo-Fresnais
- Production Manager : Yorick Kalbache
- Press Attachés (film) : André-Paul Ricci, Tony Arnoux
- Sound Editor : Eric De Vos
- Assistant editors : Catherine Le Mignant-Labye, Séverine Cava, Laurent Pelé
- Continuity supervisors : Olivia Bruynoghe, Sari Turgeman
- Production Designer : Eytan Levy
- Sound Mixer : Bruno Tarrière
- Still Photographer : Amit Berlowitz
Watch this movie
Watch Live & Become in VOD
Media Gallery
Technical details
- Type : Feature film
- Genres : Fiction
- Sub-genre : Drama
- Themes : Exile, Childhood
- Production language : French
- Coproducer countries : Belgium, Italy, Israel, France
Box-office & releases
News & awards
News (12)
Selections (18)
Awards (3)
Cesar Awards - French film industry awards
France, 2006
César Award for Best Original Screenplay : Radu Mihaileanu
César Award for Best Original Screenplay : Alain-Michel Blanc
Lumiere Awards
France, 2006
Prix du Public Mondial de TV5Monde
