‘Golda’ Teaser: Watch First Footage of Helen Mirren as Iconic Israeli Leader Golda Meir – Berlinale

EXCLUSIVE: Deadline can reveal the first teaser for the Guy Nattiv biopic Gouda cheese starring Helen Mirren as Israel’s legendary Prime Minister Golda Meir ahead of its world premiere at next week’s Berlinale (February 20).

“As someone who grew up with Golda as a heroic myth, almost inhuman, and the only female prime minister in Middle Eastern history, I want people to see how Helen brings a brilliant layer of soul, wisdom, wit and courage the character of Golda,” shared Israeli Oscar winner Nattiv meeting.

“By turning her into a flesh and blood human, she captures the impossible situation that Golda faced while secretly undergoing cancer treatment,” he continued.

“Golda was the wrong person in the wrong place at the wrong time, leading a country to the brink of destruction. It is still considered a great trauma for Israelis. Our film delves deep into this tragedy.”

Based on a screenplay by Nicholas Martin (Florence Foster Jenkins), the picture focuses on the events of the 1973 Yom Kippur War.

The conflict between Israel and a coalition of Arab states led by Egyptian President Anwar Sadat increased Cold War tensions between the US and the Soviet Union.

The clip shows a tense phone conversation between Meir and US Secretary of State Henry Kissinger, played by Liev Schreiber, about the fate of 30,000 captured soldiers from Egypt’s so-called Third Army.

Kissinger positioned himself as a key peace negotiator in the conflict to leverage American influence and advance American interests in the Middle East.

“We will send them water if they return our prisoners and Sadat agrees to hold talks with Israel, not with Israel’s Zionist entity,” a stern Meir told Kissinger. “If he doesn’t, I will order my planes to attack and all these men will die, all of them.”

When Kissinger warns that the destruction of the Third Army would lead to the overthrow of Sadat and the installation of a Soviet-backed leader in neighboring Egypt, Meir defiantly recalls her childhood in Kiev.

“Let me tell you about the Russians, Henry. When I was a child in Ukraine, my father closed the windows of our house at Christmas to protect us from Cossacks getting drunk and attacking Jews,” she says.

“My father used to hide us in the cellar… my father’s face, Henry, I will never forget that look. He just wanted to protect his children. I’m not the little girl hiding in the basement.”

Nattiv said the scene captured a key moment in Meir’s handling of the conflict and Mirren’s performance.

“This clip shows Golda emotional and wild during the hardest days of her life,” said Nattiv. “Golda remains calm, acts with great courage and does not give in to the skepticism and pressure of a great leader. She accepts her responsibilities under extremely difficult circumstances. Unfortunately, she never got credit for it,” he adds.

“I remember filming that scene and when we shot Helen’s close-up, I got goosebumps when she played Golda and reminded me so perfectly of her childhood enchantment. Helen became Golda on a spiritual and cellular level and that moment was exciting to watch,” he added.

Oscar winner Nattiv has a two-decade relationship with the Berlinale and last attended the festival with the white supremacy drama skin in Panorama 2019.

“This is my fourth film at the Berlinale and the festival holds a big place in my heart and career,” he said.

“I was in my twenties when I first came to Berlin with my graduate school short film The Flood and attended my very first Talent Campus. That winter of 2002 changed my life forever. I never thought that 21 years later I would be showing my film with the legendary Helen Mirren in the beautiful Berlinale Palast. It’s a moment that comes full circle for me.

The biopic is produced by BAFTA winner Michael Kuhn (Florence Foster Jenkins). Embankment handles international sales. Bleecker Street and ShivHans Pictures pre-acquired the US rights in 2021 in a deal brokered by ICM Partners and CAA Media Finance.