On October 7, 2023, Israeli director Nadav Lapid was in Paris, where he had been living for several years. He had written the script for his fifth feature film, Yes, the story of a cynical musician who, in pursuit of fame and fortune, agrees to compose a new anthem for Israel, with nationalist and violent overtones. As in his previous films – the most recent being Ahed's Knee (2021) and Synonyms (2019) – the filmmaker aimed to use fiction, with a critical eye, to explore Israeli society. The massacres carried out by Hamas and the war in Gaza changed everything.

That reality became part of history – both that of the Middle East and of Lapid's film. Yes, which, by a strange coincidence, began filming on October 7, 2024, is consistent with the original script. But the atrocities and killings that had taken place a year earlier forced their way onto the screen. So did the notifications on smartphones announcing mass casualties. In scenes filmed on a hill overlooking Gaza, plumes of smoke from explosions could be seen; the sound of bombs detonating could be heard.

Over the months, the fate of the film mirrored the unfolding chaos. It was screened at the Directors' Fortnight in Cannes on May 22, just as the Israeli army launched Operation Gideon's Chariots, aimed at seizing control of three-quarters of the Gaza Strip. Throughout the summer, while various non-governmental organizations spoke of a "mass famine" in the enclave, Yes was shown at preview screenings in France, Romania, Germany and Israel.

A fierce look at a society

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