At Beit Lessin Theater in Tel Aviv, the premiere performance of "First in the Selection" was held on Wednesday evening. The play, which was presented as part of the closing night of the French Theater Festival, was directed by the festival's creator – director, producer, screenwriter and French-Jewish actor Steve Suissa.
The play tells the extraordinary story of Alfred Nakache, an Algerian-born Jew, ‘the swimmer of Auschwitz,’ who survived the Holocaust. It is a one-man show starring actor Amir Haddad.
Haddad is also a singer and creator who represented France at the 2016 Eurovision Song Contest and has collaborated with singer Sia.
The festival's creator, Steve Suissa, established three acting schools in Israel - in Netanya, Ashdod, and Tel Aviv, to benefit French Jews who made aliyah. At the end of the play, he received warm words from his friend, world-renowned Algerian Jewish singer-songwriter Enrico Macias, who through his music conveys a message of brotherhood and peace between the countries of the world and in particular with the State of Israel.
Following the performance, an event was held to mark the end of the French Horizons festival at the 'Cantina' restaurant on Rothschild Boulevard in Tel Aviv.
The event included a reception and dinner in the presence of French Ambassador to Israel Eric Danon and his wife, Marie-Christine. Also in attendance, congratulating Suissa and Hadad on the successful show: Ruth and Meir Sheetrit, Ami and Lizika Sagi, businessman Jonathan Abramczy, who sponsors the festival, Frank Melloul, CEO of the i24News channel as well as other guests.
