A powerful BBC documentary about the 7 October massacre at the Nova Music Festival has won the International Emmys’ Honour Award for most impactful film to society, alongside two additional Emmy nominations.
We Will Dance Again tells the story of a music festival that became a killing field as Hamas terrorists stormed the site near Re’im, murdering over 360 people and abducting dozens more. The documentary weaves mobile phone footage recorded by victims with first-hand testimony from survivors of the Nova Music Festival massacre.
Dashcam photo of a Hamas terrorist capturing a man at the Supernova music festival, held near Kibbutz Reim in Israel’s southern Negev desert on October 7 2023, where terrorists from Gaza killed hundreds of individuals. Wikipedia.
Leo Pearlman, producer and partner at Fulwell Entertainment, said, “Across all the horrors of 7 October, the massacre at the Nova Music Festival is the site where the juxtaposition between good and evil was most apparent. It is the reason why this film, that I had the privilege to produce, is both the most important project I have ever worked on and the one I most wish I never had to.
“In the 550 days since this crime against humanity, there have been 100s of music festivals around the world, not one of them has used it as an opportunity to pay tribute to the young innocent victims whose only crime was to be Jewish.
“Imagine such a tragedy occurring at Glastonbury or Coachella and the world remaining so deathly silent? Instead, at those same music festivals, we hear chants of ‘from the river to the sea’ and banners calling for the destruction of the only Jewish state and Kneecap given platforms to spread hate.
“The young, innocent victims of the Nova massacre stood for unity, love and inclusivity, we should be building solidarity across communities in their memory, using their tragic loss as the motivation to reject hate.”
He added: “It is an honour to receive two Emmy nominations and the Academy’s honorary award, not to our merit, but in tribute to those whose lives were taken, the survivors, for truth and for the 59 hostages who still remain in captivity in Gaza.”
Nova Survivors Kfir, Ziv and Noam at the London premiere of ‘We Shall Dance Again’.
Commissioning Editor Lucie Kon added, “I’m so pleased to see We Will Dance Again being recognised with these nominations and the honorary award. This was an important film – a historical document of a truly terrible event. It was an honour and a privilege to work with the team to bring it to audiences on the BBC and across the world.”
First aired on BBC Two and now distributed globally, the documentary has drawn praise for its raw depiction of trauma, courage and humanity in the face of terror. The International Emmys ceremony takes place later this year.
We Will Dance Again is available to watch now on BBC iPlayer.
