In a tropical paradise turned dystopian by the Drug War, struggling Colombian parents Isska and Menajem reinvent themselves as Orthodox Jews. During a year in which reality and a religious parable collide, they risk everything in an attempt at immigrating to Israel, putting their family and faith to the ultimate test.
Young, charismatic parents Isska and Menajem, along with their daughters Ruth and Jaia, are the model family of Beit David, their community of Orthodox Jewish converts in Cali, Colombia.
Despite the fact that Israel won’t recognize their conversions, Isska and Menajem are willing to do whatever it takes to be accepted as “real Jews”.In the midst of Cali’s most violent year in a decade, Isskaand Menajem feel that it’s now or never to leave Colombia and find more stability for their daughters.
Because Latin American Orthodox converts are often turned away by Israeli border patrol, the family concocts a plan for getting through: disguising themselves as Christian tourists visiting for Easter. With nerves stretched to a breaking point, the family embarks on a trip to the Promised Land that will put their faith to the ultimate test andchange their lives forever. Torah Tropical tells the universal story of searching for identity and belonging in the face of adversity. Through Isska and Menajem’s struggle to give their daughters a better life, the consequences of economic, racial and religious exclusion are explored with poetic intimacy, inviting audiences to fall in love with a family that defies stereotypes and inspires us to find hope in the middle of the world’s cruelest intersections
