First look at Helen Mirren as Golda Meir in upcoming biopic

The first image has been released of Academy Award winner Helen Mirren portraying Golda Meir, Israel’s only female prime minister, in an upcoming biopic set during the Yom Kippur War.

Production on “Golda” began earlier this year and it is currently being shot in London with a star-studded cast that includes “Call My Agent” star Camille Cotin as Meir’s longtime personal assistant and Israeli actor Lior Ashkenzi as her chief of staff.

The feature-length movie is being directed by Israeli filmmaker Guy Nattiv, who won the 2018 Academy Award for best short for “Skin,” a film involving neo-Nazis that he later made into a feature.

“As someone who was born during the Yom Kippur War, I am honored to tell this fascinating story about the first and only woman to ever lead Israel,” Nattiv said with the announcement of the beginning of production.

“Nicholas Martin’s brilliant script dives into Golda’s final chapter as the country faces a deadly surprise attack during the holiest day of the year,” he added.

Along with the rest of Israel, Meir and her all-male cabinet were taken by surprise by the attack on the eve of the holiday in 1973 by Egyptian, Syrian and Jordanian forces.

The ensuing bloody conflict — chronicled in the recent acclaimed Israeli production “Valley of Tears” on Kan and HBO Max — shattered the nation’s growing sense of confidence at the time in an embattled region.

The news of the new biopic earlier this year followed the announcement of another star-powered production on Meir, a series titled “Lioness,” led by Israeli actress Shira Haas of “Unorthodox” fame.

While “Golda” will focus on the turbulent Yom Kippur War period, “Lioness” will follow Meir from her birth in Kiev to her American upbringing in Milwaukee, her role in the formation of Israel and her rise to become the new nation’s first and only female prime minister.

JTA contributed to this report.