Abstract
This study asks how the October 7, 2023, terror attack and the subsequent Iron Swords War are reflected in final film projects by Israeli high school students in film and communication educational tracks. Employing qualitative content analysis, nine finalists’ works from the 2024 Jerusalem Film Festival’s Young Creators Competition (Wim Van Leer Competition for High School Students) were analyzed through two complementary frameworks: Friesem’s model of filmmaking as a tool for cultivating empathy, and Hobfoll et al.’s resilience model that identifies five core elements for coping with trauma: sense of safety, calm, efficacy, social connectedness, and hope. The films served as creative arenas for articulating grief, fear, displacement, and identity negotiation while fostering psychological and social resilience. All resilience components were evident in the films underscoring cinema’s therapeutic and pedagogical potential. The findings of this study highlight that integrating media literacy education with creative production can empower adolescents to process collective trauma, construct meaning, and strengthen both personal and communal resilience in times of national crisis.
Recommended Citation
Ratner, Evanna and Ben Atar, Ella
(2024)
"Media Literacy in Times of Crisis: Empathy and Resilience in Israeli Student Filmmaking After October 7, 2023,"
Jewish Film & New Media: Vol. 12:
Iss.
1, Article 3.
Available at:
https://digitalcommons.wayne.edu/jewishfilm/vol12/iss1/3