‘#Nova’ film, about Oct. 7 atrocities, arrives on Prime Video
The documentary chronicles the Hamas massacre at the desert rave, using footage taken by festival attendees and by the terrorists themselves
Jessica Steinberg, The Times of Israel's culture and lifestyles editor, covers the Sabra scene from south to north and back to the center
“#NOVA,” the documentary from Yes Studios chronicling the October 7, 2023, Hamas terror attack and massacre at the Nova desert rave, is now available on Prime Video.
Yes Studios has said that the 52-minute documentary is the most viewed film in the company’s history.
“’#NOVA’ is one of our most talked-about and controversial films,” said Sharon Levi, managing director of Yes Studios, “and always attracted a huge amount of interest when we held exclusive screenings at selected international venues.”
Levi has said that having the documentary available on Prime Video allows it to meet the significant ongoing global demand that still exists.
“We may be 18 months on from this terrible day, but with 59 hostages still being held and the images from the October 7 attacks still etched on our collective memories, ‘#NOVA’ remains an important, unique, and must-see film,” she said. “Not only does it document the brutal start of the war, but it also captures different viewpoints without a conventional news agenda or, indeed, any narrative filters. Instead, the self-shot, real-time footage presents a truly authentic account of what happened at the festival and provides a lasting testimony to the events of that day.”
It took Israeli filmmaker Dan Pe’er less than two months to create the intensely raw and painful documentary about the October 7 onslaught.
The film, produced by Kastina Communications for Yes, was made with footage filmed by some of the 3,000-plus party-goers as well as by the Hamas terrorists intent on killing them.
It’s a deep, disturbing dive into the chaotic, terrifying hours of the assault, in which more than 350 partygoers were killed and dozens more assaulted and taken hostage to Gaza, 14 of whom returned alive and 17 were murdered.
“I want it to be seen by every person over the age of 18 in the world,” Pe’er told The Times of Israel. “It’s a movie that shows the holocaust that happened there.”
It was a herculean task for Pe’er, who conceived of the film during his volunteer work in the first two weeks of the war when he created profiles of each missing person to identify them, having downloaded their photos and videos from social media.
“#NOVA” uses self-shot and mostly exclusive footage from festival attendees to chronicle, minute-by-minute, the tragic events of that day, when Hamas terrorists killed and kidnapped.
A total of 1,200 people were killed in the entire assault, which also targeted civilian communities and army bases, with 251 hostages kidnapped in total.
