It’s one thing to keep the memory of a dead friend alive. It’s quite another to hide his body and pretend he’s still alive. This darkly comedic premise drives the plot in the Israeli miniseries “Stockholm,” which will have its West Coast premiere May 6 at the Los Angeles Jewish FilmFestival.
In the miniseries, four seniors conceal the death of their friend Avishai — the front-runner for the Nobel Prize in Economics — for five days until the official announcement is made. Suffice it to say that things don’t go according to plan.
The four-part miniseries is based on renowned author Noa Yedlin’s 2016 novel of the same name. Israeli broadcasting company Keshet bought the rights to the book before it was published. “I never thought of adapting the novel. I’d never done it before,” Yedlin told the Journal. “But I knew these characters so well I thought I was the woman for the job.”
Yedlin characterized the miniseries’ plot as similar to but much funnier than the novel. The novel relies a lot on the internal thoughts of the characters. Yedlin published her latest novel, “People Like Us,” last month. “People have been telling me that it will make a great series or movie. We’ll see,” she said. “Stockholm” has been translated into English and is now in the market for a publisher, Yedlin said she hopes that all her other novels will be, too.
“I was interested in the limits and boundaries of friendships. Also what nearing death does to you,” Yedlin said. “When you’re 70 and a very close friend dies, it’s a big reminder of your mortality. Does it make you give up or does it make you want to correct whatever needs correcting in your life? I thought it would be interesting to explore that, and also what happens to a group of friends when one friend gets enormous success and recognition.”
Yedlin also wanted to explore the lives of modern septuagenarians who “are not only grandparents, they are not only getting to 70, but they’re deciding that it’s the age to divorce or go abroad or study. They go on Facebook and Tinder and they cheat and have sex. They have complicated relationships with their grown children,” she said. “When I write, I try to raise as many questions as possible and ask questions that interest me and not necessarily give answers. I’m interested in human beings and the human soul.”
“I was interested in the limits and boundaries of friendships. Also what nearing death does to you. When you’re 70 and a very close friend dies, it’s a big reminder of your mortality.” — Noa Yedlin
Yedlin was on set for all but a few days during production and participated in every step of the process, including casting. In “Stockholm’s” second season, which she’s writing now, veteran Israeli stars Sasson Gabai, Doval’e Glickman, Liora Rivlin and Tikva Dayan will return, and a yet-to-be-announced male actor will join them.
Plans for the series include international sales and selling the remake rights, and Yedlin has a cast wish list that includes Lily Tomlin, Judi Dench, Diane Keaton and Jack Nicholson. “I think [Nicholson] would be a hilarious Avishai,” she said. “Playing a dead body would show his sense of humor, but if he wants to play a live one, I’m OK with that, too.”
Born in Tel Aviv to parents who came from Argentina, met in Israel and later split, Yedlin had a “100% secular upbringing,” but [Judaism] is a very big part of my identity and influences my life very much,” she said. “I live and raise my children in a country where Judaism is a part of day-to-day life. It’s part of the cultural and intellectual arena and part of me, as well.”
Yedlin became a journalist after her military service but realized that her newspaper job was the wrong fit. “As a journalist, you have to write the truth, and I wanted to make up stories.” She began writing novels and won the prestigious Sapir Prize for her second novel, “House Arrest,” in 2013. “It was terrifying, but I felt that was a good point to make the switch,” she said. “I became a full-time author.”
Yedlin published her latest novel, “The Landlady,” last month. “People have been telling me that it will make a great series or movie. We’ll see,” she said. “Stockholm” has already been translated into English and Yedlin said she hopes that all her other novels will be, too.
Yedlin lives in Jaffa with her husband, who teaches philosophy, her 4-year-old son and her 8-year-old daughter, who appears briefly in “Stockholm” as the grandchild of Dayan’s character. Yedlin won’t be able to attend the Los Angeles Jewish Film Festival but she’s happy to be included and “very interested to hear how people react” to “Stockholm,” she said. A big hit in Israel, it won best miniseries and Dayan won best actress at the 2018 Israeli Television Academy Awards. Yedlin, Gabai and Glickman received nominations.
Asked about her hopes for the future, Yedlin said, “I’m very lucky. To write and to get recognition for it is nothing less than a miracle. I hope that nothing goes wrong and things keep going the way they have so far.”
“Stockholm” will screen at 7:30 p.m. May 6 at Laemmle’s Town Center in Encino.
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