Moshe cannot be blamed if he’s a little bit confused. The kippa-clad Ethiopian immigrant protagonist of Zion Rubin’s 2001 film “Caravan 841” cannot figure out why his mother has not yet joined him in Israel. As he anxiously awaits the arrival of his only living parent, 11-year-old Moshe must cope with the imminent closure of the resettlement trailer camp where he lives and fend off efforts by a social worker to ship him off to boarding school. Meanwhile, as if Moshe’s life weren’t complicated enough, his two mentors, a fervently Orthodox rabbi and an African-American jazz musician, tug him in radically different directions.

“Caravan 841” is one of several short films dealing with the Jews of Ethiopia being screened at the 8th New York International Sephardic Film Festival at the Center for Jewish History. Although Ethiopians are not technically Sephardim, this year’s festival, the theme of which is “Sephardic Crossings,” casts a wide net.

The eight-day festival also features movies from Israel, the United States and Europe that focus on the Jews of France, Greece, Iraq, Morocco and Turkey. The festival is sponsored by Sephardic House, the American Sephardi Federation and Yeshiva University Museum.

Forwarding the News

Thoughtful, balanced reporting from the Forward and around the web, bringing you updated news and analysis each day.

Terms(Required)

I agree to the Forward's Terms of Service and Privacy Policy

Email(Required)

Center for Jewish History, 15 W. 16th St.; Dec. 2-Dec. 9; $9, $7 students and seniors. (tickets 917-606-8200, info 212-294-8350 or www.sephardichouse.org or www.yumuseum.org)

The Forward is free to read, but it isn’t free to produce

I hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, I’d like to ask you to please support the Forward.

Now more than ever, American Jews need independent news they can trust, with reporting driven by truth, not ideology. We serve you, not any ideological agenda.

At a time when other newsrooms are closing or cutting back, the Forward has removed its paywall and invested additional resources to report on the ground from Israel and around the U.S. on the impact of the war, rising antisemitism and polarized discourse.

Readers like you make it all possible. Support our work by becoming a Forward Member and connect with our journalism and your community.

This is a great time to support independent Jewish journalism you rely on. Make a gift today!

—  Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Publisher and CEO

Support our mission to tell the Jewish story fully and fairly.

$90 $180

$360

Other amount