Three photographers, a year in the swamp: the film that reveals the Hula that disappeared

A new documentary brings back rare color footage from 1956, in which three photographers documented the Hula swamp before it was drained. The film combines the footage with interviews with their daughters, who recall a time when their fathers were far from home. The drainage, begun in the early 1950s, was seen as a Zionist enterprise but later proved to be the greatest ecological disaster in Israel's history.

A new documentary brings back rare color footage from 1956, in which three photographers documented the Hula swamp before it was drained. The three — Werner Braun, Eddie Hirschbein and Arieh Volc — set out on a year-long mission and left their families behind. The film, broadcast on Kan 11, combines the original footage with interviews with the photographers' daughters, Tamar Levi Hirschbein and Ora Volc Ettinger, who recall a time when their fathers were far from home. The drainage, begun in the early 1950s, was seen at the time as a Zionist enterprise but later proved to be the greatest ecological disaster in Israel's history, leading to soil fires and the extinction of species. Director Eyal Ben Moshe describes the complex restoration work, which included re-recording sounds in the studio. The film stirs longing for a lake most viewers have never seen.