Opening Event
The 24th Cinema South International Film Festival
Israeli Premiere: Etty
In the presence of the filmmaker
Hagai Levi
Thursday | 6.11.2025 | 19:00 | Sderot Cinematheque
France, Germany, The Netherlands | 2025 | Drama Series, 6 Episodes | Dutch, German | Hebrew Sub.
In Nazi-occupied Amsterdam, a young woman goes to therapy. This is Etty Hillesum.
At the age of 27, driven by a deep passion for life, she embarks on a spiritual and emotional journey, all chronicled in her diaries. In them, she unfolds her turbulent love affair with psycho-chirologist Julius Spier - a relationship that becomes the catalyst for a radical inner transformation, accelerated by the growing threat she faces as a Jewish woman, ultimately leading her to an enormous act of solidarity.
Hillesum’s diaries were first published 40 years after her death. Since then, they have been translated into over 20 languages and sold millions of copies worldwide. Told in an unconventional fashion, the series offers a dialogue between past and present, revealing how Etty's strive for meaning continues to resonate today, and evoking the timely question: How do we find hope in a hopeless world?
Producers: Yael Foigel, Letitia Gonzalez, Jonas Dornbach, Frans van Gestel, Eilon Ratskovsky, Ossi Nishri, Hagai Levi, Maayan Eden | Production Companies: Arte, Les Films du Poisson, Komplizen, TopKapi, Quiddity, SIPUR | Scriptwriter: Hagai Levi | Director of Photography: Martijn van Broekhuizen | Editor: Yael Hersonski, Neta Dvorkis, Asaf Korman | Script Editor: Ossi Nishri | Production Designer: Silke Buhr | Sound Designer: Noemi Hampel | Original Score: Volker Bertelmann, Raffael Seyfried, Ben Winkler | Cast: Julia Windischbauer, Sebastian Koch, Leopold Witte, Claire Bender, Bart Klever, Evgenia Dodina, Gijs Naber
Program:
19:00
Opening Ceremon
19:30
Screening: Etty Part I (Episodes 1-3)
A simultaneous screening will take place in Hall 2 alongside the main event in Hall 1
22:00
Gala Reception
Opening Performance: Uzi Navon
22:15
Screening: Etty Part II (Episodes 4-6)
