Star of Israeli Netflix hit series channels terror-related trauma into art
The historic narrative provides Swell Ariel Or with the space to channel her own trauma from a terror attack, she tells i24NEWS
As the hit Israeli show “The Beauty Queen of Jerusalem” is back for a second season on Netflix, its star told i24NEWS how her performance was informed by the drama of both Israeli history and everyday reality.
Swell Ariel Or was at the scene of a shooting attack in 2016 when a Palestinian terrorist murdered two and wounded several others in a Tel Aviv bar. Still a teenager, she was scarred by the incident and developed post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), leading to panic attacks.
"Terror attacks in Israel are happening on a daily basis and it's only a matter of chance if you'll be in one or not," she told i24NEWS. "Unfortunately, I was in the wrong place at the wrong time."
She said that she was able to channel that painful experience creatively in her portrayal of Luna Ermoza, as well as her struggles and traumas in the period piece dramatizing Jewish life under the British mandate.
"I felt so safe on set with my co-actors and director and the production team that I let myself dive into what I went through and it was really helpful to be able to open up about trauma when it is someone else's story, the character's. It was not easy but very therapeutic," she continued.
Telling this story "is very important," Or noted, saying that "the reality we live in now is the direct result of that period."
She added that "as an actress, it was very important to research how people in the 1930s and 1940s used to think and behave, what was the glass ceiling for women at the time, what was the tempo, the inner dialogue and so on. It was very hard to research that but it was very fulfilling."
Starring in an Israeli show with a global audience typically makes one a target of both welcome attention and antisemitic projections. The young actress said that her Israeli values and her belief in her country provide her the strength to deal with any type of criticism, and that she accepted the role thrust on her of an "ambassador" for the Jewish state.
"It is very important for me to represent Israel wherever I go, no matter what I do... I believe in my country and its artists so much."