Red Leaves

After the death of his wife, Ethiopian immigrant Meseganio Tadela makes a fateful decision. Settled in Israel for the past 30 years, the 74-year-old widower sells his apartment and informs his grown children that he has no intention of buying a new place. Instead, the obstinate Meseganio plans to shuttle between each of their homes for the remainder of his life. Over his long journey between households, the elderly Meseganio bears witness to the disappearance of the Jewish Ethiopian culture he holds so dear while discovering the hidden secrets and not so quiet desperation of his adult progeny. Shooting in a distinct documentary style and using mostly nonprofessional actors, writer/director Bazi Gete (whose family emigrated from Ethiopia to Israel when he was eight years old, going through refugee camps in Sudan) frames his narrative amid the sun-baked concrete surfaces of desolate bus stops and cramped housing projects. At center stage is the haunting performance of Debebe Eshetu as the stubborn and weary King Lear–like patriarch who eventually must face the life-threatening consequences of his chosen path. First-time feature director Gete and actor Eshetu have crafted a shattering cinematic experience that will linger with the viewer long after the lights have come up.