Hagai Levi’s New Drama "Etty" to Premiere at Venice Film Festival
The Israeli Golden Globe-winning screenwriter and director returns with a powerful new series inspired by the wartime diaries of Etty Hillesum, offering a message of compassion and inner strength.
Renowned Israeli filmmaker Hagai Levi is set to premiere his latest drama series Etty at the prestigious Venice Film Festival, it was revealed Tuesday. The series, a French-German-Dutch co-production, presents a modern adaptation of the life and writings of Etty Hillesum, a Dutch Jewish woman who perished in the Holocaust and left behind deeply moving diaries chronicling her spiritual and psychological journey under Nazi occupation.
This marks Levi’s second time at Venice, following the 2021 screening of Scenes from a Marriage. All six episodes of Etty will be screened in full at the festival. “I’m honored and thrilled to return to Venice with Etty,” said Levi. “I couldn’t imagine a more fitting platform to present this work. Her diaries have profoundly impacted my life since I discovered them over a decade ago. In these times of war, hatred, and despair, the compassion and faith Etty offers through her words, written over 80 years ago, feel more relevant than ever. This is a series very close to my heart, and I hope it touches many others as well.”
A Modern Portrait of a Remarkable Woman
Etty explores Hillesum’s inner world during the years 1941 to 1943. The story follows her emotional awakening after meeting psycho-chirologist Julius Spier, and the personal transformation that empowers her to face the growing dangers of life as a Jewish woman in Nazi-occupied Amsterdam. At its peak, the series portrays an extraordinary act of solidarity that defines her legacy.
The lead role of Etty Hillesum is played by acclaimed European theater actress Julia Windischbauer, alongside Sebastian Koch (The Lives of Others) as Julius Spier. The cast also features Evgenia Dodina, Gijs Naber, and Claire Bender.
The series is executive produced by Yael Fogiel and co-produced by Komplizen, TopKapi, Quiddity, and SIPUR. Several Israeli creatives also contributed to the production, including editors Yael Hersonski, Neta Dvorkis, and Asaf Korman; artistic producer Maayan Eden; and script editor Ossi Neshri.