BAL EJ: THE HIDDEN JEWS OF ETHIOPIA
Dir. Irene Orleansky
(96 min, Israel, 2016)
English Hebrew Amharic with English subtitles
Documentary
Following a hundred-year-old account of the prominent Jewish scholar Jacque Faitlovich, filmmaker and distinguished ethnomusicologist Irene Orleansky travels to Africa to discover and explore a small and secretive group of Ethiopian Jews known as Bal Ej (craftsmen).

Frequently persecuted by their neighbors and deprived of land ownership rights, they outwardly disguise themselves as Christians and practice Judaism in strict secrecy. A fascinating investigation of the history, religious practice, and cultural (especially musical) contributions of this previously unrecorded African Jewish community.