AllMovie

In the summer of 1947, over four thousand survivors of the Nazi holocaust during World War II quietly boarded a ship called the Exodus 1947 and set sail for Palestine from a small port in Sete, France. The crew was made up of fellow holocaust survivors and sympathetic sailors from around the world, and their goal was to travel to the Holy Land that they believed was their birthright; however, at that time Palestine was under the control of Great Britain, and with the British unwilling to allow these survivors entry visas, their journey had to be kept secret. British authorities found out about the Exodus en route, and their navy intercepted the ship, transferring the passengers to three ships that were essentially floating jails. However, once these ships arrived in France, the former passengers of the Exodus refused to set foot on French soil, and their protest created a standoff between French officials, the British navy and the Jewish settlers on board. The event created a global controversy that many have cited as one of the key prerequisites to the creation of the state of Israel a year later. Filmmaker Jean-Michel Vicchiet tells the true story of this pivotal moment in history in the documentary We Were Exodus, which blends rare photos and newsreel footage with new interviews with the passengers and crew of the Exodus, as well as the citizens who helped feed and support the refugees during their long protest. We Were Exodus was an official selection at the 2008 San Francisco Jewish Film Festival.