SCREENWRITER’S NOTE

When the October 7, 2023 attack occurred, I was called up for reserve duty at the “Shura” military base, where the victims of the massacre were brought for identification. I had never been involved in this kind of work before. I am a playwright and theater director. During my reserve duty, while I struggled to find ways to cope with the painful task, I decided to document what I saw on the base as people working there shared with me their internal anguish, the difficulties they encountered in the work, and their feelings. After two months on the base, I found it hard to return to normal life, so I decided to write a play based on my experiences and the testimonies of my colleagues at “Shura”. The play is based on my belief in the therapeutic and healing powers of art, and was selected for production at the Israel Festival in 2024. Yoav Halevy and I are writing the script for the film inspired by the play. The film will illuminate the traumatic human events that followed the devastating attack of October 7, 2023 – an attack in which children and elderly people, men and women were murdered – from a different point of view, offering an intimate and artistic look at a traumatic event that changed the face of Israel forever.