When screenwriter and director Keren Nechmad began working on her film about the young Israelis of Kissufim in the late 1970s, the idea that thousands of terrorists could invade the southern kibbutz and neighboring communities and carrying out massacres was seen as fiction, too absurd for Netflix to consider.
Six years later, as Israelis mark a year of mourning since this previously unimaginable pogrom and still suffer from the heartbreak caused by the hostage-taking, Nechmad’s film was finally released, offering audiences United States and elsewhere a new historical perspective on life in this region that Israelis call “the Gaza envelope.”
The film was shot on the kibbutz in 2021, two years before Hamas terrorists murdered 17 people there and kidnapped Shlomo Mansour, now 86 and still held captive in Gaza. In total, more than 1,200 people were murdered and 251 taken hostage in southern Israel during the attack on October 7, 2023, which caused severe damage to Kissufim and other kibbutzim and rendered them widely uninhabitable.
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In 2021, Nechmad decided to tell a version of his father’s story, that of a group of young German soldiers and volunteers who lived in the southern kibbutz, on the Gaza border, at the time when Israel and Egypt signed the 1979 peace treaty.
“My father was a member of this group of volunteers in Kissufim. I knew his story well and the profound impact it had on his life,” Nechmad explained in an interview with the Times of Israel.
Auditions for the film took place three years ago. The main roles were given to actor Swell Ariel Or (The Beauty of Jerusalem), in the role of Eli, as well as Mili Eshet, Yehonatan Vilozny, Erez Oved and others.
The coming-of-age story, both moving and difficult, was filmed in August 2021 in Kissufim. It shows the young soldiers playing in the pool and bonding with young German volunteers, going to Gaza to buy pitot and falafel, and sitting awkwardly on a Mediterranean beach alongside young Gazans. .
Tension, drama and a strange prescience emanate from the story told, as the young soldiers navigate the pressures that have always existed between Israelis and Palestinians living in the region, inside and outside the country.
The 88-minute film was scheduled to be shown in Israeli cinemas last fall, just as the Hamas attack took place on the morning of October 7.
At the time, Nechmad was at home in Tel Aviv. She spent the first day in front of the TV and on her phone, trying to figure out what was happening.
The next day, she joined the public relations situation room, an initiative for this organized to help families understand what happened to their loved ones. Nechmad created social media stories and videos that provided content about the unfolding tragedy.
“I did it for three weeks. I didn’t sleep at all,” she said.
She and lead actress Or were scheduled to travel to Orlando, Florida, to perform “Kissufim” at the Orlando Film Festival, where the film won Best Foreign Film and Best Cinematography.
“We went there, and it was intense to show it in a normal festival, to talk to Jews and non-Jews about what happened, and how this film is connected to those events,” Nechmad said.
Swell actress Ariel Or (left) and writer-director Keren Nechmad of “Kissufim,” a Netflix film set in the late 1970s on a kibbutz in the south of the country. (Credit: Courtesy)
In the months following October 7, Keren Nechmad and Keren Or screened the film in Los Angeles and New York, to raise funds for Kibbutz Kissufim.
While it was clear that now was not the time to release the film in Israel, Netflix expressed interest. The streaming giant initially wanted to release “Kissufim” only in Israel before bringing it to 15 countries around the world, and finally released the film this month.
The film has been preserved almost intact. Only a scene at the end of the film, considered inappropriate by Nechmad after the pogrom led by Hamas on October 7, was deleted.
She invited several members of Kissufim to the first screening in Israel and shared their grief for a member of the kibbutz security team, who had advised the film crew on security measures and who was killed while attempting to protect the community on October 7.
“I always believed that this story needed to be told,” Nechmad emphasized. “Since October 7, this conviction has been strengthened. »
Swell Ariel Or, lead actress in “Kissufim,” a Netflix film set in the late 1970s on a southern kibbutz. (Credit: Courtesy
Ariel Or remembers reading the script for “Kissufim” several years ago, during a visit to a southern kibbutz, and being immediately seduced by the contemporary rhythm of a story anchored in the past.
“I appreciated the dynamic of moving from one character to another and the diversity of experiences each person has,” said Or.
The film is set in the years following the Yom Kippur War of 1973. The trauma, drama and tensions of that time are reflected in the film, says Or, as are the characters’ innate happiness and desire for peace and calm. .
“See this film now, as we commemorate the first anniversary of [massacre du] October 7, is particularly difficult,” added Or, who was in Los Angeles on October 7 at the time of the Hamas pogrom and spent the following days using his social media to explain the unfolding tragedy and raise funds for the units. army reservists.
“I sincerely hope that, despite the trauma of October 7, the future holds better things for the people of Israel in terms of peace and tranquility,” Or said. “I hope we find a way to continue to live here in safety, allowing everyone to sleep at home without fear. After centuries of war in Europe, these nations now coexist; I hope we can do the same in the future. »
The main characters of “Kissufim,” a Netflix film set in the late 1970s on a southern kibbutz. (Credit: Courtesy)
Nearly a year after October 7, Nechmad expresses his confidence in audiences to grasp the film’s messages and hopes that it will serve as context for understanding the events of October 7 in Israel.
“Showing ‘Kissufim’ is essential because October 7 does not come out of nowhere,” explained Nechmad. “I would like this film to be seen by as many people as possible. »
