Icon Docs working on “Black Saturday”

Emanuel Rotstein, Icon Docs

EXCLUSIVE: A new documentary tells the harrowing story of ten teenagers who fled the Nova Music Festival on October 7. They were subsequently attacked as they sought shelter in a bunker and had to hide under the bodies of those killed to survive.

Hamas’ attack on the Nova Festival marked the beginning of the attack on Israel on October 7 and sparked the ongoing war between Israel and Hamas, which has so far claimed an estimated 37,000 lives.

The group in the film was able to quickly leave the festival, hoping to find safety in one of the many bunkers on the outskirts of Gaza. However, over the next eight hours, they were attacked with machine guns and grenades. Icon Docs has secured footage of the festival-goers and interviews with them as they process the events.

Icon Docs, the documentary division of German studio Bavaria Fiction, hopes to have the film ready to air in time for the first anniversary on October 7.

Emanuel Rotstein, head of documentary filmmaking and executive producer at the label, told Deadline he was approached by a colleague whose friend had a son who was in the home.

“He survived the terrorist attack in a bomb shelter. Not only him, but also a group of friends. My colleague said: ‘Whatever happens, we will record it or keep it as a historical document for the future.'”

The filmmakers have the interview footage as well as videos and photos shot during the festival and from the bunker where the teenagers sought shelter. The documentary also captures the story of a father trying to reach his daughter in the bunker when he learns of the incidents.

The interview footage with the teens was recorded shortly after they survived the attack on the bunker. “They sat down with a cameraman and a director and basically started telling their story, from the moment they first heard about this trance music festival to the moment they were released from the hospital,” Rotstein explained.

He added: “They manage to explain what happened minute by minute in very genuine yet unbiased language. Everything they say on camera is unadulterated by the political events and what happened in the months that followed.”

The documentary is one of several that have been commissioned about the events since October 7. Yes Studios was behind it #NOVAin which the events of the day are recorded, Bad Boys Studio Sipur has We will dance again A segment on Hamas sexual atrocities is also in the works, hosted by Sheryl Sandberg.