A former Lord Mayor of Birmingham and one of the creative driving forces behind the renaissance of Westside has achieved a 12-year dream to become a film producer.
Sir Bernard Zissman has announced that TV personality David Baddiel (pictured below) will narrate a documentary called Herzl: The Man Behind Israel, based on the former councillor’s own 2008 book Herzl’s Journey… conversations with a Zionist Legend.
The film will tell the story of Theodor Herzl – a journalist who dreamed of being a successful engineer, famous lawyer and playwright. Born in 1860, the Austro-Hungarian father of modern political Zionism died in 1904 aged 44.
As one of the city’s leading Conservative councillors, Sir Bernard backed major Westside projects including the ICC and Symphony Hall. He also chaired the design panel which led to the 2015 opening of Grand Central above New Street Station.
After being Lord Mayor in 1990-91, Sir Bernard was elected leader of the city council’s Conservative Group and was knighted in the 1996 New Year’s Honours List.
In 2012, Sir Bernard announced his dream to become a film producer with a planned adaptation of his 2008 book about the founder of the modern state of Israel.
Now a great-grandfather, Sir Bernard is set to have it all fully completed by the New Year, and AI technology will even bring Theodor Herzl to moving life from still images.
He said: “Window Zebra Productions has been shooting interviews for us all over the world, from the UK to Europe, Canada and Israel. A lot of well-filmed documentaries are being made for streaming and we’ve signed a deal with TVF International. I have seen some of the rushes, but the final film will be finished in two or three weeks.”
Production on the Herzl film began 15 months ago, so the events of 7 October last year were as unexpected as they were shocking.
Sir Bernard said: “The film is not out of date. If anything, it is going to be more relevant. I am a supporter of the state of Israel, but not of Benjamin Netanyahu, in the same way I can support Britain but not necessarily Sir Keir Starmer.
“This is not a film about the war in Gaza or Lebanon although I accept the conflicts are relevant to our story. Herzl was determined to establish his ‘safe country’ in Palestine as the historical home of the Jewish people, but he envisaged a place where all inhabitants would live in peace side by side.
“He would be horrified with how the Zionist movement which he founded was depicted today by those critical of and opposed to it. David Baddiel is not a Zionist, so people can then immediately see this is not a propaganda film for Israel, rather it’s about how the concept of Israel and a Zionist government came about.”
He added that 7 October and its aftermath was “a tragedy” both for the Palestinian people in Gaza and Lebanon but also for Israel.
Sir Bernard left Birmingham in 2014 to be closer to his family in London. He returned to the city last month and walked through the centre.
He said: “In many ways, Birmingham is still a vibrant city. But, like many cities, it has suffered from a lack of retail investment. Life has changed, and not always for the better. When I was backing the ICC and Symphony Hall [when Sir Dick Knowles was the council’s Labour leader] we both had a common vision and wanted the same thing for the city – a better life for the population and to make the city a better city.”
As for the bankrupt state of Birmingham City Council, Sir Bernard added: “I’m not sure what’s happened there – but both the ICC and Symphony Hall did change the economic fortunes of the city for the better.”
Herzl: The Man Behind Israel is being directed by James Dann and Dominic Howlett and is being made by Window Zebra Productions, Generation Films and New Take Films. See here for more details.
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