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Exclusive: Swell Ariel Or, star of Netflix series The Beauty Queen of Jerusalem, is set to star in Bleiberg Entertainment’s upcoming war film, Tankistas (working title), about an all-female tank unit responding to the October 7 attack in Israel.

Filming is being lined up for October of this year on the movie, which we first told you about in December 2023.

The film is inspired by true events regarding what is believed to be the first-of-its-kind all-female tank unit which engaged Hamas attackers on October 7, 2023. Ariel Or is to play the unit’s captain, who in the absence of central command, took it upon herself to command three armored vehicles and engage hundreds of Hamas militants for a battle that lasted more than 17 hours. Yarden Toussia-Cohen, whose credits include The Beauty Queen of Jerusalem and Apple’s Tehran, is slated to play the battalion’s commander.

Pic is to be directed by Ayelet Menahemi,...

Less than a year after the Oct. 7 attack occurred, the first-ever scripted dramatization of the tragedy got a U.S. preview screening Thursday at the closing night of the second annual Scripted Israel event.

Based on true stories, “One Day in October” is from Fox Entertainment Studios’ production banner Tideline, which is co-producing the four-part event anthology series with yes TV, New York-based production company Sparks Go and Israel’s Zoa Films.

Attendees of the screening at the Academy Museum of Motion Pictures got to see an episode depicting the harrowing plight of friends Gali Amar and Amit Amar on the grounds of the ill-fated Nova music festival as terrorists massacred hundreds of concert-goers. Featuring actors Swell Ariel Or, star of Netflix’s “The Beauty Queen of Jerusalem” and Noa Kedar (“The Malevolent Bride”), the entire episode takes place inside a portable toilet where they were forced to hide, fearing for their lives.

Fox Entertainment Studios is developing the first scripted series representation of the Oct. 7, 2023, attack on Israel, sharing the real-life accounts that emerged from the dark day in the country’s history.

Premiering this October, the four-part anthology series, “One Day in October,” centers on four gritty and unflinching narratives of love, courage, survival and loss. From parental sacrifice and joyful moments turning to torment, to beacons of hope in the heart of chaos, each story reveals profound truths about the senseless carnage of Hamas’ assault, the visceral emotions it released and, as each victim’s world unraveled around them, the perseverance and sheer heroism required to survive.

“’One Day in October’ is among the most powerful projects I’ve seen, let alone been involved with,” head of Fox Entertainment Studios Fernando Szew said in a Monday statement. “Beautifully filmed, yet gut-wrenching, these are stories of people at their best in the midst of unimaginable,...

Exclusive: As the anniversary of October 7 approaches, the first scripted series about the devastating attack has emerged.

Fox Entertainment Studios and Israel’s yes TV are co-producing One Day in October, a four-part anthology series which the pair are calling the “first scripted representation of the personal stories that emerged from Oct. 7.”

Created by Oded Davidoff and Daniel Finkelman, the drama series, which is filmed on location in Israel, centers on four narratives of love, courage, survival and loss. From parental sacrifice and moments turning to torment to beacons of hope amid chaos, each story reveals profound truths about the “senseless carnage of this assault,” according to its backers. Cast includes Swell Ariel Or (The Beauty Queen of Jerusalem), Noa Kedar (The Malevolent Bride), Naomi Levov, Hisham Suliman, Wael Hamdoun (Fauda), Yuval Semo, Avi Azulay (Testament: The Story of Moses), Naveh Tzur and Yael Abecassis.

On October 7, Hamas militants stormed into Israel attacking, amongst other places, a number of kibbutzes and the Nova Music Festival, killing around 1,200 people and taking more than 200 hostage, of which only around half have so far returned and a number are presumed dead. The attack was the catalyst for the Israel-Hamas War, which has so far seen the deaths of around 40,000 people in Gaza, according to the Hamas-run health ministry.

One Day in October is one of the first projects for Fox Entertainment Studios banner Tideline, which Deadline revealed was launching earlier this year at Sundance. The anthology, which is being produced by Finkelman’s New York-based production company Sparks Go and Israel’s Zoa Films, will premiere on yes TV in October and be distributed globally by Fox Entertainment Global.

“One Day in October is among the most powerful projects I’ve seen, let alone been involved with,” said Fernando Szew, head of Fox Entertainment Studios. “Beautifully filmed, yet gut-wrenching, these are stories of people at their best in the midst of unimaginable, horrible circumstances. The survivors portrayed in this series allowed for their horrific experiences to be represented by wonderful talent — both in front of and behind the camera – which will invite the audience to ultimately feel their profound love of, and for, life.”

Finkleman added: “Our goal with this series is to capture and convey the picturesque kibbutz and euphoric music celebration that abruptly crumbled into incomprehensible nightmares. Thanks to the unwavering support of Fernando, Hannah and Tideline, I think we’ve achieved that vision and were able to create this four-part series from start to finish within a year, which is almost unheard of for any production.”

There are already a couple of movies in the works about October 7 and its aftermath including Dani Rosenberg’s Of Dogs and Men, which will world premiere at Venice, while several documentaries are being made about the attack. One Day in October also has shades of Ukraine War anthology series Those Who Stayed.

“At Tideline, our mission is to tell relevant and impactful stories from differentiated voices and perspectives globally,” said Hannah Pillemer, Executive Vice President and Head of Scripted at Fox Entertainment Studios. “One Day in October is seminal, poignant and beautifully told, making it a fitting and essential addition to Tideline’s growing footprint.”

One Day in October features four hour-long episodes written by Liron Ben-Shlush (Next to Her, Working Woman), Davidoff (The Beauty Queen of Jerusalem, The Malevolent Bride), Adam G. Simon, and Amir Hasfari and Keren Weissman (Mama’s Angel). It is directed by Davidoff and produced by Finkelman (Menasche, The Performance), Chaya Amor (The Performance), Aviv Ben-Shlush, Lee Ben-Shlush Kuperman and Szew.

Boris Lojkine’s drama The Story Of Souleymane has won Best International Film at the Jerusalem Film Festival.

The feature, which was feted with the Cannes Un Certain Regard Jury Prize in May, revolves around a young man rehearsing his lines ahead of an asylum application interview as he cycles around Paris delivering food.

Romania’s Emanuel Parvu won best director for Three Kilometers to the End of the World about a young gay man who is brutally attacked when he returns to his conservative village in the Danube Delta wetlands region for the summer.

The jury International Feature competition jury consisting of Michel Franco, Guy Nattiv and Maria Choustova also awarded Hu Guan’s Black Dog with a Special Mention.

UK-Indian director Sandhya Suri’s rape drama Santosh won Best Film in the First Feature Competition, with Block Pass by French director Antoine Chevrollier scoring a Special Mention.

Bedouin...

On Wednesday evening, while most of Hollywood was cheering the news that the months-long actors strike had just come to an end, some 200 invited members of the industry — most of them avowed supporters of Israel — convened at the Museum of Tolerance in West L.A. for a screening of a film unlike any other: Bearing Witness, which comprises 43 minutes of footage of atrocities committed by Hamas terrorists against Israeli citizens on Oct. 7.

The somber gathering took place under heavy guard. Another media outlet leaked the location at which it would be taking place, resulting in threats against the museum and necessitating an FBI advance team in the days leading up to it. On Wednesday, a considerable number of LAPD officers were stationed inside the museum’s theater, out on the surrounding streets and in a helicopter overhead. But in the end, there appeared to be no more than a few...

Netflix has boarded a Hebrew-language TV series from Israeli creatives Guy Amir and Hanan Savyon.

Created by Amir and Savyon, who also play the lead roles, Bros will launch next month.

The show follows Pini and Nisso (Savyon and Amir), inseparable childhood friends, co-owners of a local Jerusalem bar and die-hard fans of soccer team Beitar Jerusalem. Their friendship is tested when their lives take unexpected turns, their bar faces closure and their favorite team is set to play the most important match in its history.

Launching November 9, Bros also stars Efrat Boimold, Yaniv Swissa, Shlomi Avraham, Yael Sztulman, Omer Hazan, Shir Abramov and Swell Ariel Or. Producers are Adar Shafran, Moshe Edri, Roni Abamowsky and Danna Stern for Firma Productions and United King Films.

Bros, which is called Through Fire and Water in Hebrew, joins many Hebrew-language series on Netflix including licensed hits such as Shtisel.

The move comes...

The Disney-backed “How to Be a Carioca,” from “Ice Age” creator Carlos Saldanha, and “Allende, the Thousand Days,” an adventurous Chilean-Spanish pick-up from Spanish pubcaster Rtve, will both world premiere at Iberscreenings, catching new evolution on the Spain-Portugal-Latin America TV scene.

A comedy, showrun by Saldanha, consolidating his exploration of live action after Netflix’s 2021 “Invisible City,” “Carioca,” whose first episode will be screened at I&pi, is produced by the Star Original Productions label, bowing soon on Star+ in Latin America and on the Walt Disney Company’s streaming services globally, such as Disney+ Spain.

An international co-production, “Allende, the Thousand Days” was originated by Chile’s Parox (“Invisible Heroes”), partnered by Spain’s Mediterráneo Media Entertainment and Argentina’s Aleph, Mente Colectiva and HD Argentina. A character focused chronicle of Allende’s three years in government before Pinochet’s 1973 military coup, the series has been acquired for broadcast by Chile’s Tvn,...

Idris Elba, Olivia Colman, Woody Harrelson Lead King Charles III Environmental Short

Idris Elba, Olivia Colman, Woody Harrelson and Glenn Close have featured in a short film launching King Charles III’s Re:tv YouTube channel. The stars make up four of 19 actors and environnentalists who revisit lines from the King’s most inspiring speeches over the last 50 years in The Speeches: 50 Years of Speaking Up For the Planet. Produced by The Real Mo Farah indie Atomized Studios, today’s short film was filmed across the UK. The film marks the launch of the King’s Re: TV YouTube channel. He started Re: TV in 2020 when he was still Prince to showcase sustainable solutions to the climate and biodiversity crisis, and the platform has made more than 100 films, generating more than 10 million views via its website, social channels and partnerships with the likes of Bloomberg and Waterbear, according to Re:tv. The...

Yes Studios (“Fauda”) has unveiled the trailer for the second season of its award-winning historical drama “The Beauty Queen of Jerusalem” ahead of its Jan. 23 debut on Israel’s leading broadcaster and streamer yes TV.

The show, whose first season launched on Netflix in May 2022, won best daily drama at the Israeli Television Academy in 2021.

Once again set in 1940’s Jerusalem and revolving around the tempestuous Ermosa family, the series will follow newlyweds Luna (Swell Ariel Or) and David (Israel Ogalbo) who experience a growing strain on their relationship once they enter a bohemian British circle.

Gabriel (Michael Aloni) will search for the son he never knew he had from his affair with Rochel (Yuval Scharf) and the family shop will hit hard times, forcing Rosa (Hila Saada) and the women of the family to take matters into their own hands. Ephraim (Tom Hagi) will become even more radical in...

“The Beauty Queen of Jerusalem,” Yes Studios’ award-winning historical series, has been picked up by Netflix for multiple territories, including the U.S., U.K., France and Spain.

The multi-language series is represented in international markets by Yes Studios, the Tel Aviv-based producer and distributor behind “Fauda,” “Your Honor,” “Shtisel” and “On the Spectrum.”

Set in the early-mid 20th century, “The Beauty Queen of Jerusalem” is adapted from Sarit Yishai-Levi’s bestselling novel of the same name and tells the story of a family set against the backdrop of the Ottoman Empire, The British Mandate and Israel’s War of Independence.

Opening in 1917, the show sheds light on Judeo-Spanish traditions and the history of a fledgling country. It was produced by Yes TV and Dafna Prenner and Shai Eines at Artza Productions with a cast headlined by Michael Aloni (“Shtisel”), Hila Saada (“Beauty and the Baker”), Itzik Cohen (“Fauda”), Yuval Scharf...