
THE FIRST LADY
Israeli transgender pioneer Efrat Tilma had to flee the country
as a teenager. Now in her seventies and a celebrated activist,
she must fight for her rights once again, while the country spirals
into political and social regression.




Efrat Tilma, a trailblazing transgender woman, was forced to flee Israel as a teenager in the 1960s, after a police officer threatened to kill her if he ever saw her again walking the streets of Tel Aviv in women’s clothing. Today, at 75, she is a prominent LGBTQ+ activist and the first transgender volunteer in the Israeli police force. As the country descends into an unprecedented social and political crisis, Efrat confronts the traumas that shaped her life and once again fights for her
place in the world.
TEAM
Directors > Udi Nir, Sagi Bornstein
Produced By > Christian Beetz, Udi Nir, Sagi Bornstein
Executive Producer > Georg Tschurtschenthaler
Producer > Lena Raith
Line Producers > Kathrin Isberner, Ofir Merkel
DOP > Uriel Sinai, Daniel Binsted
Original Munic > Adam Maor
Design & Animation > Arik Weiss
Sound Design & Mix > Aviv Aldema
Color > Omer Weiss
Community strategist > Roei Hillel
Based on a Book By > Efrat Tilma
TECHNICAL DETAILS
Production Countries > Israel / Germany
Release year > 2025
Runtime > 82 min
PITCHING EVENTS
CPH:DOX, Copenhagen, 2022
Copro, Tel-Aviv, 2022
Cologne Film Festival, 2022
HotDocs, Toronto, 2023
Copro Impact Lab, Tel-Aviv, 2023-24
Agora Docs, Thessaloniki, 2024
JFI residency, San Francisco, 2024


City
Venue
Date
Time
Comment










.png)
