Jerusalem Film Festival to open with Golda, starring Helen Mirren

The Jerusalem Film Festival will open its 40th year with a festive screening of Guy Nattiv’s movie, Golda, starring Helen Mirren, at the Sultan’s Pool amphitheater on July 13.

Golda tells the story of former prime minister Golda Meir, focusing on how she handled the Yom Kippur War, a topic that was the source of great controversy and which led her to resign. Mirren won an Oscar for her portrayal of Queen Elizabeth II in The Queen and her performance in Golda won rave reviews at the Berlin International Film Festival earlier this year. The supporting cast includes Liev  Schreiber as Henry Kissinger, Rami Heuberger as Moshe Dayan, Lior Ashkenazi as David Elazar, Ohad Knoller as Ariel Sharon and Camille Cottin of Call My Agent! as Golda’s assistant. Nattiv has made many movies both in Israel and abroad, among them The Flood, Magic Men and Strangers and he won an Oscar for the short film, Skin, about racism in the US, which was co-written by Sharon Maymon.

Roni Mahadev-Levin, the director of the festival and the CEO of the Jerusalem Cinematheque, and Elad Samorzik, the artistic director of the festival, released a statement saying, “We are happy to open this year’s festival with Guy Nattiv’s Golda, an impressive and immersive international production that provides a glimpse into the most fateful days in the life of one of the key figures in the history of the State of Israel. Helen Mirren’s performance is electrifying and we are sure that the thousands of spectators at the Sultan’s Pool will have an unforgettable experience.”

The festival will close with the film, Anatomy of a Fall by Justine Triet, a psychological thriller and courtroom drama which won the Palme d’Or, the top prize at this year’s Cannes Film Festival.

The festival, which is held mainly at the Jerusalem Cinematheque, was founded by Lia van Leer, who won the Israel Prize for her work promoting and preserving quality cinema in Israel. The festival, which will run until July 23, will feature approximately 200 films from more than 50 countries, in a carefully curated artistic program that will include prize-winning movies from the top film festivals around the world. There will be guests from abroad and special events, including free screenings in neighborhoods all over the capital and master classes.

There are also closely watched competitions for the best recent Israeli feature films and documentaries.

The entire program will be available soon on the festival website at https://jff.org.il/he.