Hanna Rovina

An English-speaking film produced on behalf of the Israeli Center of the International Theater Institute, providing international audience with an overview of modern Israeli theater, including scenes of renowned Israeli theater productions from the theater season of 1967. The film opens with excerpts from “The Dybbuk” at Habima Theater, and includes scenes from the successful musicals of the Cameri Theater “Utz Li Gutz Li” (Rumpelstiltskin) and “King Solomon and Shalmai The Shoemaker”. Other excerpts include scenes from the plays “The American Princess” by Nissim Aloni at the Seasons Theater, “He Walked Through the Fields” by Moshe Shamir at the Haifa Theater, Ibsen’s “Hedda Gabler”, “Who’s Afraid of Virginia Wolf”, and more.

The story of the Rovina women—Hanna Rovina, the grande dame of Israeli theatre and a founding member of the national theatre Habima; her only daughter, the celebrated singer Ilana Rovina, known for her unique voice, born from a brief love affair with poet Alexander Pen. Through rare personal and public archival materials, the film reveals the complex world of the Rovinas—a fascinating lineage of women marked by beauty, grace, and strength, yet also by pain, flaws, and life-altering choices. This is a story of women, of mothers and daughters, of fame and solitude, of love and sacrifice, and of the lasting impact of past decisions on generations to come.