Oxygen

The idea for Oxygen was born during a war more than a decade ago, when my son said to me, "Don't worry, Mom. I run really fast — so when I'm a soldier, I'll run between the bullets and I won't die." That haunting image stayed with me and eventually became the seed of this film. Filmed in July 2023, just three months before the current horrific war, Oxygen has since become heartbreakingly, and even more politically, relevant. At its core, Oxygen is a story of war and love, of motherhood and rebellion. Anat, the protagonist, undergoes an awakening that begins in the womb — an awakening that is both personal and political. On the national level, she evolves from a normative Israeli mother who accepts the destiny imposed upon her — to raise sons for war — into a woman who dares to resist it, refusing to hand her son over to killing and to being killed. Oxygen tells the story of a mother who rebels against the Israeli ethos of heroism through a radical maternal act of resistance. On an inner, universal level, Anat transforms from a symbiotic mother, bound to her son, into one who understands that true love means letting him go — freeing him from the collective demand for sacrifice, but also from herself. Oxygen is not only about a mother saving her son, but also about a mother who fights him. The film carries a pacifist spirit that resonates with Israel's growing refusal and anti-war movement, daring to imagine a world in which, if there are no soldiers, there will be no war. — Netalie Braun

Jerusalem Film Festival — Best Israeli Feature, Haggiag Award Tallinn Black Nights Film Festival (PÖFF) — Official Selection Filmfest Hamburg — Official Selection Mar del Plata International Film Festival — Official Selection San Francisco Bay Area Film Critics Circle Award — Oxygen by Netalie Braun (Israel). With the outbreak of a new war in Israel, a soldier is about to enter Lebanon. His mother refuses to wait for bad news and decides to take matters into her own hands. Oxygen received a 2024 JFI Completion Grant.

Jerusalem Film Festival Tallinn Black Nights Film Festival (PÖFF) Filmfest Hamburg Mar del Plata International Film Festival

Featuring: Dana Ivgy, Ben Sultan, Marek Rozenbaum, Romi Aviram, Nurit Galron Director & Writer: Netalie Braun Producers: Aviv Ben-Shlush, Adi Bar-Yossef Cinematography: Itay Marom Editor: Nili Feller Music: Asher Goldschmidt Casting Director: Chamutal Zerem

Israeli Film Fund, Galil Film Fund, The New Fund for Cinema and TV, Sam Spiegel Film Fund, Mifal HaPais Council for the Culture and Arts, Albi Film Fund, Barbara Dobkin