By Jessica Steinberg, Times of Israel

As the U.N. warned Israel on Sept. 5, 2023 against expelling Eritreans en masse following major clashes, the Jerusalem Cinematheque was hosting a screening of the Ophir-nominated film Running on Sand, a comedy-drama about an Eritrean asylum seeker struggling to survive in Tel Aviv.

Starring a cast of African migrant actors, including lead character Chancela Mongoza, born in the Congo and living in Israel for the last 17 years — alongside the familiar visages of Zvika Hadar, Kim Or Azulay, Israel Atias and others — this funny, heartfelt film tells the story of Omari (Mongoza), an Eritrean asylum seeker who unwittingly is drafted into a struggling Netanya soccer team as he escapes deportation from Israel.

Directed by Adar Shafran, who spoke with the Cinematheque audience after the screening, the film came about as Shafran and the three screenwriters — Yoav Hebel, Sarel Piterman and Assaf Zelicovich — began taking notice of the very ordinary lives of the asylum seekers among them in Tel Aviv.

“They would see refugees passing by while they drank their morning coffee, and said, ‘They’re like us, but we haven’t noticed them,’” Shafran said, describing a typical Tel Aviv scene of people, including the migrants, walking their children to school, speaking Hebrew, doing what other Israelis were doing at the same time.

The asylum seekers, Shafran said, have become invisible in Israel. They’re the dishwashers and janitors, caregivers and cleaners, noticeable for their darker skin tones, but unseen in Israeli society.

“It’s like there’s a black curtain drawn over these people,” said Shafran.

In Running on Sand, Omari and his friend, Nigel (Micheal Kabya-Aharoni, an asylum seeker who was adopted by celebrity chef Yisrael Aharoni), are refugee success stories of a sort. They work as dishwashers, speak Hebrew fluently, and share an apartment with friends until disaster strikes.

Omari finds himself entangled in a drama that’s partially of his own making, but it’s his own sweet, optimistic personality that extricates him from the complications of lacking legal residency papers.

There are layers of reality and truth in the unconventional story, including the invisibility of asylum seekers, the Israeli government’s difficulties in figuring out how to handle the issue, and rampant racism alongside a certain begrudged acceptance of African migrants in Israeli society.

“This movie is about racism but also about invisible people,” Shafran said, relating that many asylum seekers used to pass through the Sinai border before spending time in the Holot detention center and were then summarily dropped off by the IDF on the top floor of the Tel Aviv bus station.

“We took a heavy subject and made it comic, and our goal is to reach as many people as possible,” Shafran said, “and maybe make a small difference.”

JCC Film Fest presents Running on Sand, 7:15 p.m., Tuesday, June 10 at The Neon, 130 E. Fifth St., Dayton. The film will also be available virtually on June 10. $12. Purchase tickets here for Neon screening.

To read the complete June 2025 Dayton Jewish Observer, click here.