Black to the Promised Land

Six black boys and five girls, aged between fifteen and eighteen, pupils of the Bedford-Stuyvesant Street Academy, New York, leave with their Jewish teacher Stewart Bialar for a three-months stay in the Lehavot Habashan kibbutz at the foot of the Golan Height in Israel. They leave their neighbourhood, where violence, crime, drugs, and poverty are part of daily life, to work together with the Israelis in the kibbutz, among herds of cattle, turkeys, fish, and orchards. The first part of the film shows the children in their everyday environment, talking about their expectations and their limited knowledge of the country they are going to visit. The second part deals with their experiences in Israel. The last part of the film, some months after their return to New York, goes deeper into their new perspectives after their encounter with a different culture and different people. Black to the promised land defies the numerous myths and stereotypes nourished by the portrayal of black and Israeli communities in the media. (International Documentary Film Festival Amsterdam)