"Etty"
The six-part series "Etty", coproduced with ARTE France and Quiddity and distributed internationally by STUDIO TF1, has been selected for an out of competition screening at this year’s Venice Film Festival, which takes place on the Lido di Venezia from 27 August to 6 September 2025.
Written and directed by Hagai Levi ("In Treatment") and produced by Yael Fogiel for Les Films du Poisson, Jonas Dornbach for Komplizen Serien, Frans Van Gestel for Topkapi Series, the series traces the extraordinary inner journey of the Dutch Jewish writer Etty Hillesum between 1941 and 1943, chronicling her profound spiritual awakening.
Told in an unconventional way, the series offers a dialogue between past and present, revealing how Etty’s strive for meaning continues to resonate today — and evoking the timely question: how do we find hope in a hopeless world?
Rodolphe Buet, Chief Distribution Officer, STUDIO TF1 said: “Some films or series are changing your life; 'Etty' is one of them. Hagai Levi’s fantastic take of adapting Etty Hillesum diary to the contemporary world turns this series into a must-watch. STUDIO TF1 is very proud to have such an impressive title in its international catalogue, and we are delighted that the programmers Venice Film Festival shared the same passion than us and have selected the show.”
Showrunner, Hagai Levi added: “I’m grateful and honored to return to the Venice Film Festival with 'ETTY'. Etty Hillesum’s diaries have had a deep impact on my life ever since I first came across them over a decade ago. In these days of war and hatred, I believe the compassion and faith she offers in her words - written over eighty years ago - are more crucial than ever. This is a series that’s very close to my heart, and I hope it will find its way into the hearts of many others. I’m thankful to ARTE and all the partners who helped bring the series to life.”
The producers added: “We are extremely proud to produce a series written and directed by Hagai Levi, one of the most accomplished and influential series creators in the world. For us as producers, ETTY offers a new and deeply relevant perspective on our time. Amid today’s political shift to the right and the rise of authoritarianism, Etty’s unwavering belief in the humanity of life becomes a message of resistance, sadly more relevant than ever.”
Etty stars Julia Windischbauer as the eponymous heroine and Sebastian Koch as therapist Julius Spier, whose patient, lover friend and secretary she later became. Other cast include Leopold Witte, Gijs Naber, Claire Bender, Evgenia Dodina, Chris Peters and Bart Klever. The series was commissioned by ARTE (France/Germany), SWR (Germany), and NPO (Netherlands).