October 7, 2023. Nova Music Festival, located in Re’im, Israel. Out of nowhere, as the sun rose that early Shabbat morning, the world changed forever. Courtesy of IsraeliFilms.Featuring an exclusive, IN-PERSON discussion with directors Yossi Bloch and Duki Dror.
*Ticket proceeds go to ongoing, amplified security measures at PJFM events.
October 7, 2023, began like any ordinary day for concertgoers at the Nova Music Festival, located in Re’im, Israel. There were over 3,500 attendees from different countries at that week’s festivities, immersing themselves in days of bliss and endless dance parties. Out of nowhere, as the sun rose that early Shabbat morning, the world changed forever. What started out as missiles hitting Israel’s Iron Dome turned into Hamas terrorists infiltrating the area, shooting everyone in sight. What started out as a dance party, a place of comfort and simha, transformed into a bloodbath…
As the months go by, as the war rages on in Israel and hostages’ families still await their return, there are individuals who continue to assert that the events of October 7th were exaggerated, overblown, or even made up by Israel itself. The Nova Music Festival ended with the deaths of 371 people, as well as hundreds wounded and 40 kidnapped by Hamas. Despite published footage by both survivors and the terrorists themselves, many have turned a blind eye to this massacre. Regardless of the terror that was filmed that day, the thousands of lives taken, and the unspeakable trauma that survivors must endure, the world, from antisemitic conspiracy theorists to people watching the news, has downplayed October 7. It is our responsibility to never forget that morning in Israel, that holiday of Simchat Torah when families woke up to the sound of gunshots and bombs, when friends entered a music festival and left in tears and blood.
SUPERNOVA: THE MUSIC FESTIVAL MASSACRE unfolds the truth of that fateful day with a punch of unforgettable audacity. Directed by Yossi Bloch and Duki Dror, this harrowing documentary carefully breaks down the events of October 7 through unedited cellphone footage, dashcams, and CCTV cameras, including interviews with survivors of the massacre who continue to heal from the unprecedented scope of that day. What transpires are gut-wrenching stories of resilience from the people who are forced to relive the terror onscreen; stories of hiding in bushes and bomb shelters near the terrorists, barricading inside bathroom stalls, jumping inside passing cars as Hamas shot endless rounds at vehicles.
PJFM is honored to present SUPERNOVA here in Philadelphia in a special, one-night screening at the Weitzman National Museum of American Jewish History, followed by an in-person discussion with the directors themselves.
SUPERNOVA screens Thursday, February 22, 7 PM. For tickets, visit PhillyJFM.org/Supernova.