Meeting Ela — The Girl from Kibbutz Be'eri

What is a Kibbutz?

A kibbutz is a unique form of communal living found only in Israel. Founded on principles of shared ownership, equality, and collective responsibility, kibbutzim are small, close-knit communities — often rural — where families live together, raise their children together, and share in the work and decisions of daily life.

Kibbutz Be'eri, founded in 1946, sits less than five kilometers from the Gaza border in southern Israel's Negev desert. For decades it was a quiet, agricultural community of around 1,100 people — a place where everyone knew everyone, children grew up running freely between homes, and life moved to the rhythm of seasons and harvests.

On October 7, 2023, that world was destroyed. More than 100 residents of Be'eri were murdered and others were taken hostage in the Hamas attack. Among them was Itzik Kozin — Ela's father.

To understand Ela's story, you must first understand what she lost: not just a father, but an entire way of life — a community built on the belief that people can live in care for one another.

My name is Ela Shani Kozin.

I was just a girl from Kibbutz Be'eri.

I had never spoken in public before.

But after October 7th, silence no longer felt possible.

So I pressed record.

I didn't know it then, but that moment would take me far away from home.

The Story

Meeting Ela explores what happens when a young girl is forced to grow up before she is ready.

At its core, the film follows an extraordinary teenager from a small rural community whose instinctive response to tragedy is not withdrawal, but connection.

As Ela travels with hostage families and enters worlds far removed from the one she grew up in, she discovers the power of her own voice. Yet rather than being transformed by the visibility and attention surrounding her, it is often Ela's honesty, vulnerability, and humanity that leave the deepest impression on the people she encounters.

Through her journey, the film examines the tension between public responsibility and private grief, and the emotional burden of becoming a voice for others while still searching for one's own.

Underlying the public story is a more intimate one: a daughter coming of age in the shadow of an unfinished relationship with the father she lost too soon.

Their relationship remained complex and unresolved, leaving Ela with the painful awareness that time had run out before either of them had the chance to fully discover what they might have become to one another.

Yet in his absence, something unexpected begins to unfold. Through memories, longing, and an ongoing inner dialogue with the man she lost, Ela slowly begins to know her father — and herself — more deeply. As she grows older, she finds herself asking the questions she never thought to ask, imagining how he might respond, and longing to share with him the person she is becoming.

What begins as a fight to bring her cousin home gradually evolves into a deeper search for identity, belonging, and meaning — as she learns that death interrupted their relationship, but did not end it.

I never called him "Dad"
or told him that I love him.

Now it's too late.

— Ela, about her father Itzik Kozin

"My dad is not coming back. And my friends are not coming back.

But Amit can come back."

TLV → LA → NY → Europe

"I can tell you that running away from Hamas
is easier than walking in these heels."

— Ela, Power Women Summit

After fifty-four days in captivity,

Amit came home.

It was a huge relief.

And for the first time in weeks,

we could finally breathe.

Two years have passed.
The war drags on.

I am seventeen now,
and everything is different.

As she enters a new chapter of her life, Ela senses that the questions that first emerged in the aftermath of October 7 remain unresolved.

Drawn by curiosity rather than certainty, she embarks on one more journey, seeking to understand not only the world around her, but the person she wishes to become within it.

The anger. The certainty. The feeling that people have stopped listening to each other.

And somewhere along the way, she realizes how little she understands.

So she packs a suitcase. Again.

Continents

Shoot Days

Years in Production

Unforgettable Voice

Artistic Vision

Meeting Ela is shaped by the tension between public visibility and private interior life. The film's artistic vision is rooted in proximity, duration, and emotional accumulation, allowing the viewer to experience Ela's world from within.

The camera stays physically and emotionally close to Ela. Handheld cinematography, natural light, and eye-level framing create a sense of shared presence. Faces, gestures, pauses, silences, and small details are privileged over spectacle.

A central formal device is the transformation of personal materials into living memory. Voice messages, WhatsApp texts, family footage, archival images, and digital traces are woven into the present tense of the film. They are not used as evidence, but as fragments of an unfinished relationship. Through them, Ela's father remains present in the cinematic space.

Sound design is central to the film's subjectivity. Ela's voice, breath, pauses, and direct address shape the rhythm. Silence is used as an active element, holding space for what cannot be fully said.

Ultimately, Meeting Ela seeks to hold together epic historical forces and radical intimacy. It is a painful coming-of-age diary, slowly awakening to the complexities of the world around it, yet refusing to let loss become its sole defining language.

Questions the film explores

How do we honor those we have lost without allowing grief to define us?

How do we preserve empathy and curiosity in a world increasingly shaped by ideology and division?

Can personal pain deepen our capacity for compassion rather than diminish it?

And how do we remain open to others when fear and certainty encourage us to retreat inward?

Early Industry Response

"A remarkably original project with an exceptional protagonist. With a compelling true story and confident directorial vision, the film holds significant potential."

Rabinovich Foundation

"Meeting Ela understands that its greatest subject is not the war, but the girl herself."

Rabinovich Foundation

"Ela emerges as a powerful cinematic character, capable of carrying a feature-length film. The emotional and narrative potential of the project is exceptional."

Makor Foundation

"Ela's story is a unique coming-of-age journey under unimaginable circumstances, revealing extraordinary emotional strength in the face of an impossible reality."

Makor Foundation

Rather than seeking easy answers,

Meeting Ela embraces uncertainty.

Ultimately, the film asks whether human connection

and compassion can survive in a world

increasingly fractured by pain, distance,

and competing truths —

and what it means to choose who we become

after the world we once knew has fallen apart.

Pitch Deck

Download Pitch Deck

Financing

The project is currently in active production with confirmed funding of $250,000 through its fiscal sponsor, US Forum for Israel. Additional support has been received from the Rabinovich Foundation and the Makor Foundation.

The fundraising strategy combines non-recoupable grants, philanthropic support, and strategic partnerships with documentary funds, cultural foundations, and mission-aligned donors.

Applications are active with Chicken & Egg Pictures, Jewish Story Partners, Jewish Film Institute, The New Fund for Cinema and Television, and additional major foundations.

Detailed budget, finance plan, and investment materials are available to qualified partners upon request.

Request Budget & Materials

Production Timeline

2023–2026: Production

2.5+ years of filming completed across Israel and the United States. Documentation of Ela's advocacy journey, public appearances, and intimate family moments.

Summer–Fall 2026: Final Production

Final production phase, including filming in Israel and Europe. Completing the European chapter of Ela's journey.

Fall 2026–Winter 2027: Editorial

Editorial process, story development, and rough cut. Transforming extensive material into a cohesive feature documentary.

Spring 2027: Post Production

Fine cut, sound design, music composition, and color correction.

Mid–Late 2027: Release

Picture lock, festival submissions, and international release. Targeted premiere at a major documentary festival.

Director's Statement

I did not expect this film to become so personal.

I began filming Ela believing I was documenting the journey of a remarkable young girl. Over time, I realized I was also filming my own questions about grief, memory, and the relationships that continue long after the people we love are gone.

In the years preceding October 7, I lost both of my parents. Like Ela, I carried unresolved questions and the experience of growing around an absence that could no longer be repaired. Recognizing parts of myself in her journey allowed me to approach the film not as an observer, but as someone listening from within.

Success for me is not measured solely by festivals or distribution, but by creating a film that preserves complexity and humanity in a time increasingly shaped by polarization and easy narratives.

— Noa Goren Zahavi

The Team

Noa Goren Zahavi

Director, Writer & Producer

Israeli-born actress, voice artist, writer, and filmmaker based in Los Angeles. After a successful career in theater and more than a decade of voice work for major studios including Disney, Warner Bros., and Pixar, she shifted her focus toward original storytelling and filmmaking. Following October 7, she co-founded US Forum for Israel. Meeting Ela is her first feature documentary. Currently pursuing screenwriting studies through UCLA.

Tal Yaari

Producer

Israeli filmmaker, editor, and writer with extensive experience across documentary films, factual television, commercials, music videos, and scripted content. Has collaborated with leading Israeli production companies and networks, contributing to award-winning documentary projects. On Meeting Ela, he serves as producer, bringing extensive experience in story development and production.

Stav Ozdoba

Consulting Editor

Israeli-born filmmaker based in Los Angeles. After serving in the IDF Film Unit, he moved to the US to pursue directing and screenwriting. His first feature film, Final Draft, screened at the Jerusalem Film Festival, Victoria Film Festival, and Orange County Film Festival. On Meeting Ela, he contributes to the film's narrative development and editorial structure.

Sharon Levi Doron

Story Consultant

Israeli filmmaker, editor, and content developer with over two decades of experience in documentary films and television. On Meeting Ela, she supports the project's narrative development and editorial process.

Be Part of This Story

Meeting Ela is seeking funding partners, co-producers, and supporters who believe in the power of documentary filmmaking to create understanding across borders.

Supported by the Rabinovich Foundation and the Makor Foundation