Nadav Lapid, a discordant voice in Israeli cinema

On October 7, 2023, Israeli director Nadav Lapid was in Paris, where he has lived for several years. He had written the screenplay for his fifth feature film, Yes, the story of a cynical musician who, for fame and money, agrees to compose a new anthem for the Hebrew state, with nationalist and violent overtones. As in his previous films, the most recent being Ahed's Knee (2021) and Synonyms (2019), the filmmaker had wanted to evoke Israeli society through fiction and with a critical eye. The massacres committed by Hamas and the war in Gaza have changed the situation.

This reality has entered history, both in the Middle East and in the film. Yes, the film, which, by a strange coincidence, began filming on October 7, 2024, is consistent with the original script. But the atrocities and killings committed a year earlier have been intruded on the screen. Just like the smartphone notifications announcing the massacres. In scenes shot on a hilltop overlooking Gaza, we see the smoke from the explosions and hear the detonations of the bombs.

As the months passed, the film's fate ebbed and flowed with the ongoing chaos. It was presented at the Cannes Film Festival's Fortnight on May 22, just as the Israeli army had just launched Operation Gideon's Chariots, aimed at taking control of three-quarters of the Gaza Strip. Throughout the summer, as various NGOs spoke of "mass famine" in the enclave, Oui was screened at previews in France, Romania, Germany, Israel, and more.

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