Oct. 7 anniversary to be marked on the small screen

All major channels will mark the first-year anniversary of the war on October 7 with special programming, as well as broadcasts of memorial ceremonies. Many are also featuring new content to mark the day and will be re-broadcasting previously shown documentary films and series about the Hamas attack.

Kan 11 will be running The Day That Never Ends, a new documentary series on the events of October 7 and their aftermath, starting on October 5 at 9:30 p.m., with episodes being released every night (except on October 7). The episodes will be available after they air at the Kan website at Kan.org.il

The ambitious series aims to present the events of the day as comprehensively as possible in the hope that the series can be used by historians and future generations to make sense of the carnage. Over 100 people who experienced the attack firsthand are interviewed at dozens of different filming locations; they recount the moments of nightmarish terror and heroism in kibbutzim, villages, cities, IDF bases, parties, and forests in the South. Those giving testimony include released hostages Yocheved Lifshitz, 86, and Yagil Yaaov, 13, as well as dozens of others who lived through that day.

On October 9, Kan will present Rachel from Ofakim, a new documentary by Zohar Wagner on Rachel Edry, the woman from Ofakim who became a legend by feeding the terrorists who kept her and her husband captive in their home for 20 hours, and baked them her now-famous cookies. She quickly became a symbol of Israeli resilience following that day, and even got to meet President Joe Biden when he visited Israel.

Throughout the year, Kan has presented many wonderfully made documentaries about the war which are still available on its website. One of the best is Noa Aharoni’s Eyes Wide Open, which is known in Hebrew as “Nobody’s Female Soldiers” (Hayalot Shel Af Ehad). It is a chilling and heartbreaking look at the story of the female IDF border observers at the Nahal Oz base who warned again and again of the threats, to no avail; the vast majority of them were killed or kidnapped.

Keshet has also aired many riveting news features throughout the year and will be making much of its content available on October 7, as well as including new features in its coverage during the day. Previously made films that are highly recommended include Yoram Zak’s Emmy-nominated Brother & Sister in Captivity, about Maya Regev and Itay Regev, siblings who were kidnapped by Hamas, and many features originally presented on the Uvda program hosted by Ilana Dayan, including Ben Shani’s Abigail (aka Table for Eight), a movie about Abigail Mor Idan – the three-year-old hostage released late last year – and her extended family, following the murders of her parents.

Hot is showing We Will Dance Again, the full-length documentary about the Supernova music festival massacre, on Hot 8 and Hot VOD. On the evening of October 7, it will debut a new documentary, We’re No Heroes by Shaked Brand and Amichai Korda, two reservists serving in Khan Yunis, who documented the lives of IDF soldiers in the field throughout their service this year.

Yes will feature a special day of content on its channels throughout the day on October 7. The main event will be its broadcast of the anthology drama series, One Day in October (the subject of a separate article) the first television series to dramatize the events of that day, which features some of Israel’s best-known actors, among them Naomi Levov, Yael Abecassis, Swell Ariel Or, and Yuval Semo.

Nova festival documentaries

Yes will also re-broadcast its #Nova documentary, a film about the music festival by Dan Pe’er, composed of video clips from that day, taken by victims, survivors, and the terrorists, which was completed just months after the events took place.

Screams Before Silence, a documentary by Anat Stalinsky and hosted by former Meta COO Sheryl Sandberg, about the sexual violence committed by Hamas on October 7, is among Yes’s programming. It spotlights the voices of survivors, eye-witnesses, and first responders in documenting the atrocities carried out that day, which many human rights and women’s groups have sought to deny.

Eitan Cohen’s Where Will You Go tells a gentle story of two octogenarian best friends evacuated to Tel Aviv from Sderot who struggle to find a place for themselves in what to them is a very strange city. It’s a charming film to watch, but the war is ever present in these women’s lives.

Cellcom TV will present I Wanted to Tell You, a special project by Reshet 13, in which the relatives of those murdered will speak about their loved ones and what it has been like to go through this year without them. Cellcom will also feature Iron Memory: The Last Words, in which families will speak to those who died and say what they couldn’t a year ago. There will also be several short films devoted to the memories of those killed. Among the documentaries that Cellcom will present on its documentary channel will be Social Workers at War by Tzipi Karlik, which details the crucial role of these professionals in helping the survivors begin to heal.

Channel 24, the music channel on multiple satellite services, will broadcast song dedications throughout the day to honor those who were killed and kidnapped. 88 FM and Galgalatz will also feature music dedicated to the victims.