First clip of Golda Meir biopic starring Helen Mirren released

The first footage of the Golda Meir biopic, starring Helen Mirren, was released by Deadline on Friday.

The teaser was released ahead of its world premiere at the Berlin Film Festival on Monday.

The nearly two-minute footage shows Mirren playing the Israeli leader during the events of the Yom Kippur War in the early 1970s, where she is in a phone conversation with then-US Secretary of State Henry Kissinger, portrayed by Ray Donovan actor Liev Schreiber.

The film is directed by Israeli filmmaker Guy Nattiv, who won an Oscar in 2019 for his short film Skin. Nattiv told Deadline that “Golda was the wrong person at the wrong time in the wrong place, leading a country on the verge of destruction. It is still today considered a huge trauma for Israelis." 

He also stated that he wants audiences to see how Mirren adds "a brilliant layer of soul, wisdom, humor and courage" to the character of Israel's first and so-far only female prime minister. The footage shown captures some of the most difficult days of Meir's life, according to Nattiv.

Also starring in the film includes Israeli actor Rami Heuberger portraying military leader Moshe Dayan and Lior Ashkenazi playing former IDF Chief of Staff David Elazar.

Previous reports on the film

The first official photos of the Oscar-winning actress as the Israeli leader were released back in November 2021. However, she was attacked on social media for taking the role shortly after the photos were released.

Earlier this month, Mirren spoke out on the controversy of non-Jews portraying Jewish characters, stating that she even had doubts about the role in a conversation with Nattiv before eventually accepting the part. 

Hannah Brown contributed to this report.