Supernova, Documentary About Hamas Attack on Music Festival in Israel, Acquired for U.K.

Posted by Larita Shotwell on Wednesday, October 2, 2024

“Supernova: The Music Festival Massacre,” a one-hour documentary chronicling the attack perpetrated by Hamas during a music festival in southern Israel, has been acquired by broadcasters around the world.

The anticipated documentary will premiere on KAN in Israel on Dec. 23. It has now been picked up by BBC World Service, ZDF in Germany, SVT in Sweden, DR in Denmark, RAI in Italy, VRT in Belgium, Canal+ Group’s CNews in France and Record TV in Brazil. The doc was also nabbed by a major U.K. broadcaster.

London-based TVF International will be handling worldwide sales going forward and is closing deals with further broadcast partners. The documentary was produced by Reinhardt Beetz and Duki Dror (“Inside the Mossad” Netflix and WDR/ARTE), who also co-directed with award-winning filmmaker Yossi Bloch (Netflix’s “The Devil Next Door.” The team behind the film includes executive producer Danna Stern (“The Devil Next Door”, “The Oslo Diaries”) and Satisfaction Group’s Arthur Essebag.

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In the emotional documentary, survivors of the massacre and first responders share their harrowing stories and the horrors they witnessed on Oct. 7 at the festival which was attended by over 3,500 people from multiple countries and was held a few kilometers from the Gaza Strip. Their testimonies are weaved with real-time footage collected from multiple sources. “Supernova” also provides a timeline of the attack, in which 371 attendees were killed, hundreds wounded and 40 kidnapped by Hamas.

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“We set out immediately to document the events at the music festival but the full details of this coordinated terror attack are only now coming together, providing a comprehensive story that will undoubtedly resonate for years to come,” said Reinhardt Beetz, CEO of Gebrueder Beetz Filmproduktion.

Duki Dror, co-producer and director, added: “The scenes and testimonies we have documented are almost inconceivable and unprecedented. Working on this has been particularly emotional as the magnitudes of the horrors perpetrated are coming to light,” said Dror.  

TVF International’s Julian Chou-Lambert said “Supernova” gives audiences a unique and comprehensive overview of the attack “while simultaneously allowing us to witness the events and their aftermath through the eyes of those who experienced it firsthand – giving an important insight into this tragic event.” 

Filmmakers collected footage from dozens of different sources including Hamas’ own cameramen and GoPros, the victims’ mobile phones, CCTV footage, dash cams and from first responders on site.

The planned attack by Hamas on the festival was part of a series of raids on numerous Israeli targets carried out by the terror group in the early hours of a holiday weekend. The attacks prompted a war between Israel and Hamas on the Gaza strip.

The documentary’s main producer, Beetz, previously delivered several films in the Middle East, including the award-winning documentary “Gaza,” which played at Sundance, and this year’s Oscar-qualifying “In the Shadow of Beirut,” co-produced with Hillary Clinton’s Hidden Light Productions.

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