Helen Mirren Leads Israel Into Yom Kippur War as Prime Minister Golda Meir in First Trailer for ‘Golda’

Shiryn Ghermezian

Helen Mirren in character as Golda Meir in a scene from Bleecker Street’s “Golda.” Photo: Jasper Wolf, courtesy of Bleecker Street.

Oscar-winning actress Helen Mirren transforms into former Israeli Prime Minister Golda Meir during the 1973 Yom Kippur War in the first official trailer for Guy Nattiv’s film Golda that will be released next month.

The feature film from Bleecker Street is about true events set during the Yom Kippur War. It shows Meir’s leadership during the tense time in Israeli history as she steers her country, and her all-male cabinet, into battle against Syria and Egypt on the morning of the Jewish holiday of Yom Kippur in 1973.

The movie also stars Jewish actor Liev Schreiber as US Secretary of State Henry Kissinger. In the trailer, which was released on Tuesday, Kissinger tells Meir, “Remember that I am first an American, second I am secretary of state and third I am a Jew.”

“You forget that in Israel we read from right to left,” Israel’s first and only female prime minster responds by saying.

In a later scene, Meir passionately tells Kissinger on the phone, “When I was a child in Ukraine they would beat Jews to death in the street for fun. I am not that little girl hiding in the cellar.”

Golda had its world premiere at the Berlin International Film Festival in February and earlier this month was the opening film of the Jerusalem Film Festival, where Mirren also received an award.

The film’s cast includes Camille Cottin, who plays Meir’s long-time personal assistant Lou Kaddar; Israeli actor Lior Ashkenazi as the head of the Israeli army; Rami Heuberger, Ellie Piercy, Ed Stoppard, Rotem Keinan, Dvir Benedek, Dominic Mafham, Ben Caplan, Kit Rakusen and Emma Davies. The screenplay was written by Nicholas Martin, who was also a producer alongside Michael Kuhn and Jane Hooks.

The film will be released in the US and UK on August 25, with special screenings held two days prior that will include a Q&A with Nattiv and Mirren.

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