Elan Lichris, a well-known Israeli filmmaker, is angry at Israeli political leadership, known for the Middle Eastern humanities films “Lemon Tree,” “The Syrian Bride,” and more recently, “The Tehran Reading Lolita,” and feels angry and irritated at leading Israeli film labs to the Boycott Israel film lab.
Riklis was selected as Tallinn’s TV Beats, Joint Loan Market (November 7-8) for his upcoming TV drama “The Abduction of Yossele Schumacher,” commissioned by Israeli commercial channel Keshet 12.
The filmmaker is keen to find a European partner in Tallinn for the six-part drama thriller. However, he also believes that anti-Israel sentiment from several regions of the global industry will not affect his dream of bringing yet another working bridge between people onto the screen.
“Israel is not in the best (political) position. I hope there’s something political between me and nothing to make a series,” he says of the diversity in a video call from his home in Tel Aviv. Similarly, Likris feels sorry for the controversy over the Israeli Oscar entry “The Sea,” featuring a young Palestinian boy, risking his life to go to the beach in Tel Aviv, and threats from Israeli Minister of Culture, Miki Zohar are the threats to fundraising the Israeli Film Academy.
“When Shai Carmeli Pollak, director of “The Sea’s,” joined the Sam Spiegel International Script Lab on the project, he coached Shai Carmeli Pollak. I loved the story and Shai gave me confidence to direct it. After that, I watched a movie at the Jerusalem Film Festival and cried for an hour and a half.
The fact that the Israeli Film Academy voted for it (as an Oscar entry) was a surprise, but it is now the best film that represents Israel. It’s good to be in (Oscar) races with this kind of story,” says the filmmaker who firmly believes that art can transcend political boundaries and that storytelling can open people’s hearts and hearts.
“As a filmmaker, I want to remain optimistic,” said Riklis, a 19-year-old Israeli soldier during the Yom Kippur war in 1973, losing many close friends. “I faced Egyptian forces for months. It was a terrible war. But a few years later, you would have imagined Egyptian President Anwar Sadat signing a peace agreement (Camp David Accord) with Israeli Prime Minister Menachem Vivas. “There are people who are constantly making change and trying to succeed. We need hope.”
Elan Likris
Credit: Marie Gioanni
A thriller series based on true events
After Ricklis’s next project, “Reading Tehran’s Lolita,” which tackled women in oppressive administrative regime in Iran, the TV show “Yossel Schumacher’s Aidation,” sees a different religious extremism that is close to the home of filmmakers.
The story is based on the true case of the Israeli acquiring of Josel Schumacher, a seven-year-old Jewish boy by his ultra-orthodox grandfather in the early 1960s, preventing him from being raised as a secular Jewish person by his parents. Nearly two years after an intensive international search led by Israeli Secret Service Mossad, the boy was eventually found in the United States and returned to his parents. According to Logline, Adeduction “clashes with his destiny and faith, and clashes with a fierce conflict between Israeli Mossad and the mysterious web of Orthodox communities.”
Riklis, who was only six to seven years at the time of the event, has a vivid memory of the incident that led to Israeli society splitting into Célèbre. “One night after a small family conflict, the story opposed Israel’s secular and ultra-Orthodox population, and the story became huge. Ben Gurion feared that the incident would lead to a civil war, so he asked Mossad to intervene. I would to anyone who mentioned it. I was waiting for this to happen!”
Riklis then contacted Moshe Zonder, a veteran screenwriter known for “Fauda,” Apple TV+ Spy Striller “Tehran,” and the recent series nerd victory show “The German.” The two had previously collaborated on Riklis’ local hits, “Zohat” (1993) and “Vulcan Junction” (1999). “I felt that Moshe would become the perfect co-writer and co-writer of the series. He has great skills in balancing drama and thriller, so when he agreed to board the project, I was thrilled,” says Lichris.
The filmmaker delves deeper into the plot and story, “The main dramatic thread will be a child’s search, but the series includes three dramatic layers. First, the heart of the story is around three equally flawed women: Judith Avrahami, Mossad Agent.
The second tier is a thriller, with Mossad looking for a boy between Israel, Italy, Germany, France, England and the United States. “Like a Liam Neeson thriller, you’ll be on the edge of your seat,” the filmmaker promises. Next, the third element is a complex sociopolitical context, “themes on oppression, liberalism, fate and religion, the rule of law versus God’s rule, the topics of today, as they were 60 years ago.”
“In the end, it’s about pain, love, loss, faith, fanaticism, and on so many levels of secrets and lies,” adds the filmmaker, who feels the project has “all the right elements that turn into an exciting, profound, must-see television for everyone.”
With an estimated budget of around 1.5 million euros ($1.7 million) per episode, the project is one of Israel’s most established production and distribution outfits, and is produced by Lichris’ longtime partner, the British King’s film, Lichris’s own single Elan Lichris Production and Moshe Edelli. It is equipped with Israeli commercial channel Keshet 12.
“At Keshet, we are passionate about telling Israeli stories that reflect our unique culture, resonating with our audience everywhere,” says Karni Zib’s Head 12 head of drama and comedy. “With Elan Lichris at the helm, the project promises to be a moving family drama with a strong, suspenseful edge and is excited by the possibility of connecting with viewers both in Israel and beyond.”
As one of the eight projects selected for the TV Beats joint funding market in Tallinn, the series, part of the Tallinn Black Night Film Festival Industry @ Tallinn & Baltic Event, will win the European Series Co-Production Development Award worth 50,000 Euro ($58,700).
“At Tallinn, we want to find a co-producer who loves the project, especially looking for partners from traditional funding sources, including public funders, broadcasters and streamers,” says Lichris, who hopes to take part in production in November 2026.
