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Film and TV production in Israel has been in virtual shutdown mode since Hamas‘ October 7 attack but, nearly two months on, a group of producers are looking to try and roll the cameras again when possible.
The Israeli Producers Association (IPA) has launched a drive for donations and help in order to get projects back up and running once fighting stops.
A new group, titled Friends of Israeli Film & TV Producers Association (FIPA), was set up during the just-ended temporary ceasefire, with information distributed around producer circles in the nation. “We are working in emergency mode to bring back production and filming,” says a leaflet promoting FIPA. “This is the livelihood of thousands of Israeli families. And there are many more challenges in the short term and long term.”
The leaflet urges those who are willing to “please be a part of the efforts to keep telling the Israeli story.”
The nation’s film and TV sector, which has long punched above its weight, was put on hold almost immediately after Hamas’ attack, which killed 1,400 civilians and saw 200 kidnapped – around half of whom have now been released.
All local productions bar news reports were stopped following a directive from the Israeli army, while theater owners also shut their doors.
These productions can technically return to work once fighting stops but IPA CEO Tzvika Gottlieb told Deadline barriers will remain, such as a lack of insurance and the amount of industry workers who have voluntarily joined the relief effort.
He said the producer body is trying to “promote compensation and reach agreements” to lower the risk of filming.
“It is a big financial risk to film in this situation,” he told Deadline. “Producers are not millionaires. They are just people who love to tell stories.”
But the move comes as fighting resumes in Gaza after the expiration of a seven-day ceasefire that saw more than 100 hostages released by Hamas in exchange for 240 Palestinian prisoners in Israeli jails.
The Hamas-run health ministry in Gaza said dozens of people were killed on Friday morning, while rockets were reported by the BBC to have been fired into southern Israel from Gaza.
Both sides have blamed the other for breaking the truce but Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has previously said he wants to “destroy” Hamas and is under pressure from right-wing members of his government.
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