“Golda,” starring the award-winning actress Helen Mirren as Israel’s first and only female prime minister so far, will open the 40th Jerusalem Film Festival on July 13 at the annual outdoor screening, organizers said Wednesday. The American-British biographical drama directed by Israeli filmmaker Guy Nattiv depicts the life of Meir, with a focus on the period of the 1973 Yom Kippur War. The film is framed by Meir’s testimony to the Agranat Commission, which investigated the lead-up to the war. As the film shows through flashbacks, Meir appears to have not acted quickly enough on Mossad intelligence about a possible attack from Egyptian and Syrian forces. Israeli forces were surprised on the holiday and initially lost ground; both sides lost thousands of troops, and the war is seen as a major trauma in Israeli history – the moment when the state’s conception of its military superiority over its Arab neighbors was shattered. “Golda” premiered at the 2023 Berlin International Film Festival in February, and will be released to Israeli theaters on August 24. The Jerusalem Film Festival will take place July 13-23, with more than 200 films from 50 countries including the top Israeli films of the year and winners from the Berlinale, Cannes, Venice and Sundance festivals. The opening event will be held at Sultan’s Pool, the outdoor amphitheater located directly under the walls of Jerusalem’s Old City.
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