The documentary The Prophet is set to make its Jerusalem debut Thursday evening, June 18, at the Museum of Tolerance Jerusalem, according to producer and writer-director Melissa Francis.
The film follows Erez Eshel, who Francis said warned his son on Oct. 6, 2023, to stay alert because “something big is coming tomorrow,” hours before the Hamas-led attack of Oct. 7. After a 6:30 a.m. phone call the next morning confirmed his fears, Eshel put on his uniform and headed south, where the documentary traces his wartime experience and its aftermath.
Francis said the film also places Eshel’s story in a broader personal context. She described him as a former Israeli paratrooper who, after years of military service, turned to leadership education during a period of deep internal social division in Israel in the 1990s. Eshel is the founding head of Ein Prat, a leadership academy and pre-army preparatory framework established in the early 2000s to promote leadership, citizenship, and service among young Israelis.
According to Francis, the project grew from Eshel’s own story and from his earlier appearance in the 1990 documentary To Be an Officer, which she said showed him as a 20-year-old trainee and helped frame his wartime experience within a longer personal arc.
In a recent interview, Francis described her 25 years in national broadcast news television at CNBC, MSNBC, Fox, and Fox Business before founding Sailfish Productions. She said she was motivated to make the film to explain Israel to viewers outside the country, particularly in the United States, after Oct. 7. She said she wanted to make “a film for Americans,” especially “non-Jewish audiences,” to help them understand Israel’s experience and the shock of the attack.
Film intercuts previous project
She said The Prophet, a Sailfish Productions film, intercuts Eshel’s present-day story with footage from To Be an Officer.
Francis said US Ambassador Mike Huckabee is expected to attend the June 18 screening and introduce the film. In a statement, Huckabee called the documentary “powerful and gripping,” said he was “riveted” after watching a prerelease screening, and said he was honored to introduce it at its Jerusalem debut.
Francis said the film is slated to open in theaters across the United States in 2026.