IIJS opened its Fall 2025 Film Series with Running on Sand. Guests were invited to screen the film from the comfort of their homes, then join us via Zoom for a Q&A with the film’s director and producer Adar Shafran, led by IIJS Film Programmer Stuart Weinstock.
Aumari, a young Eritrean refugee living in Israel, is about to be deported. At the airport, he is mistaken for Maccabi Netanya's new star player from Nigeria. Despite having no soccer skills, Aumari seizes the opportunity and finds himself lifting up the floundering team while bonding with the team's female CEO. Nominated for four Ophir Awards (Israel's Oscars), including Best Film, and winning the Audience Award at both the Palm Springs International Film Festival and the Boca International Jewish Film Festival, Running on Sand combines Ted Lasso-style humor with an empathic depiction of refugees' struggles, shedding light on the unseen and unheard in Israeli society.
Adar Shafran is a producer and co-owner of Firma Films, a Tel-Aviv-based production company making feature films, television series, and short-form content. He has produced films and a series with Haredi filmmaker Rama Burshtein (Fill the Void, The Wedding Plan, and Fire Dance) and with the comedy duo Guy Amir and Hanan Savyon (Maktub, Forgiveness, and Bros), among others. Running on Sand is Adar's first feature film as director.
The Q&A is available to view in full below.
This event was made possible by the generosity of the Appel and Kaye families.
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