Welcome to The Times of Israel's Daily Briefing, your 20-minute audio update on what's happening in Israel, the Middle East and the Jewish world.

Documentary filmmaker Yonatan Nir joins host Jessica Steinberg for today's episode.

Ahead of the launch of season three of DocuNation, the online festival of Israeli documentary films for the Times of Israel Community, Nir discusses how the event got started in March 2020, during the initial outbreak of the coronavirus.

At the time, Nir's screenings were canceled, and he turned to Zoom to offer free screenings and discussions about his films.

DocuNation eventually included other Israeli documentary films that were screened for online audiences, with ToI offering the same concept for English speakers, with subtitled films or films that are mostly in English.

Nir talks about the kinds of films screened, those showing Israeli life and society, the parts of life usually not shown in the news, offering a more uplifting look at life during difficult times.

Check out The Times of Israel's ongoing liveblog for more updates.

For further reading:

Wilfrid Israel, an unsung Holocaust hero, gets his due

In Arctic, polar bear is final frontier for famed Israeli wildlife photographer

He ain’t heavy, he’s my sibling

‘Dolphin Boy’ gets picked up by Disney

Subscribe to The Times of Israel Daily Briefing on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube, or wherever you get your podcasts. This episode was produced by Podwaves.

 IMAGE: Documentary filmmaker Yonatan Nir brings third season of DocuNation festival to ToI Community in October 2025 (Courtesy)

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