When Hamas terrorists attacked Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, 10 Israeli musicians lost loved ones, friends and homes. But they refused to let the music die.
The new documentary “The Bridge,” produced by “Friends” veteran Kevin Bright, follows these survivors as they team up with legendary rock icons in Los Angeles to turn their personal tragedy into a story of resilience and musical healing.
Bright told Fox News Digital that one moment during filming made him realize the documentary was special.
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“[I] think, for me, one of the campers talking about how he lost everything in the conflict that day and all that was left was the volume control of his guitar,” he said.
“And, so, to hear him say, ‘The music wasn’t gone, I could still control the volume’ was something that really hit me hard.”
The group attended Rock ‘n’ Roll Fantasy Camp in Los Angeles, where amateur musicians jammed alongside some of the most influential artists in rock history. Founder and CEO David Fishof has run the program for nearly 30 years.
The Israeli musicians attended the camp only months after the October 7 terror attacks, which killed more than 1,200 people and saw more than 240 taken hostage. Their trip to the U.S. also came as anti-Israel protests spread across college campuses.
During the program, they worked with members of bands, including Guns N’ Roses, Van Halen and Black Sabbath. The experience culminated in a final performance at the Viper Room in Los Angeles.
“That final performance at the Viper Room, they kind of tee it off by saying, ‘This is the first time that Hebrew has ever been spoken on the stage of the Viper Room,’” Bright said.
“While they enjoyed playing a song in English after that, I think that moment allowed them to really carry their country, their personal pride in that country and present it through music to the audience that was there.”
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Brad Allgood, director and editor of the film, explained that, during the final performance, many of the survivors were playing for loved ones lost in the conflict.
“Tuval [Haim] was playing drums, and he was playing ‘My Hero’ for his brother. Bar was playing with everything he had in honor of his father. Raz and Dov were singing in honor of their friends who died that day,” Allgood told Fox News Digital. “Everybody was playing for somebody else, and you could feel it in the music.”
Raz Shifer was one of the Israeli campers who participated in the program. She was at the Nova Music Festival when Hamas attacked on Oct. 7. More than 300 people were killed at the festival, and dozens were taken hostage.
According to her biography on the documentary’s website, she escaped to a nearby kibbutz, but two of her friends were taken hostage, including Inbar Hayman, who died in captivity.
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Allgood said Shifer’s connection to music was “affected in a really deep way” after the attack. He said she had an emotional breakthrough during a welcome event for the program, where she shared her story publicly and got up to play.
“It was her first time really sharing her story in public,” Allgood said. “After they shared their stories, they played ‘With a Little Help from My Friends’ and some other songs. And it was the first time that she was able to get on stage and just sort of let everything out. And she says that in the film it was ‘the time I was able to just let everything all out.’”
He explained that the experience helped the survivors reconnect with music after the massacre.
“They couldn’t sleep. They couldn’t eat. They just sat on their couch trying to figure out what was going on. And this, whatever it is about music, it allows you to connect emotionally both with yourself and with others. It’s a universal language and just there’s something special about it that, you know, just jump-starts that process,” Allgood said.
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Bright said the documentary avoids the political debate surrounding the Oct. 7 attack and instead focuses on the survivors’ experiences.
“This was a human story, a human situation. People were traumatized and hurt. And it was about giving them a path forward to reach out and give something of yourself to give a path forward,” he said.
“I think the music took all of the politics and religious judgmental aspects of it out and just made it about the music. Made it about having a good time. Made it about getting back on your feet and playing again,” Bright continued.
“And you’ll also hear in the film that many of these survivors were not able to even think about playing music for several months after the attack happened. So, it just provided a conduit for them to get back into the world and to deal with the unfortunate trauma they had suffered.”
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As for the title, Bright explained that it symbolizes the difficult transition from grief back to life.
“The bridge is between trauma and healing, and music being the conduit or the suspension of that bridge that people walk through to come to the other side,” Bright said.
“The Bridge” will roll out across select venues in North America starting Oct. 5, ahead of a wider theatrical release in November. The documentary premiered in Jerusalem Aug. 19, with U.S. Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee and his wife in attendance with former Israeli President Reuven Rivlin.
