During the CPH:DOX Rough Cut session, directors Jacob Tschernia and Tomer Slutzky took to the stage to present The Alarmist, a gripping political documentary six years in the making. The Danish-US co-production traces the extraordinary political journey of Stav Shaffir, the youngest woman ever elected to the Israeli Parliament, against the backdrop of Israel’s democratic unravelling and the dramatic collapse of its political left.
Screen Scotland’s Head of Unscripted Dani Carlaw moderated the presentation.
Produced by Drive Studios and Nordland Pictures, The Alarmist explores one of the most consequential political transitions in Israel’s recent history. Once a beacon of progressive ideals, the country’s left-wing opposition has been reduced to near-irrelevance, replaced by an emboldened coalition of extremist, messianic forces legitimised by Benjamin Netanyahu in his bid to retain power amid corruption charges.
Shaffir rose to prominence in the wake of Israel’s Occupy movement, which mobilised half a million people in protest against inequality and austerity. Her subsequent ascent within the Labour Party saw her emerge as a passionate advocate for a two-state solution and a vocal critic of settler corruption. With her fiery parliamentary speeches and uncompromising stance, she became a natural leader of the opposition—until the 2019 political earthquake.
The film captures the chaotic year of 2019, when Israel held three national elections in quick succession. During this time, Netanyahu, facing indictment, aligned himself with ultra-nationalist, racist factions previously considered beyond the political pale and giving them “the legitimacy they have only dreamt of.”
As Shaffir fought to bar these figures from the ballot, she was branded an alarmist—her warnings dismissed even as she received death threats and faced growing internal resistance. Over the years, Labour, once Israel’s largest opposition party, saw its parliamentary representation plummet from 25% to a mere 3%.
The directors explained during their presentation that Shaffir’s trajectory is emblematic of a broader trend: the fragmentation and self-destruction of progressive forces in Western democracies. “Following Stav gave us front-row access to this shift. When we started filming, she was a rising star in Israel’s second-largest party. A year and three elections later, she was ousted by her own allies,” said the filmmakers.
Three powerful clips were screened during the session. The final one shows Shaffir stepping away from politics entirely, sacrificing personal ambition for what she perceives as the greater good. “We stand here today,” added Slutzky and Tschernia, “as the last gatekeepers of Israeli democracy are being dismissed through illegal procedures. This film captures the moment democracy went off the rails—the tipping point.”
Despite the regional specificity, the team insists the story has universal resonance. The fall of the Israeli left mirrors a wider shift recently seen in countries such as the United States, where the normalisation of extremism and political polarisation have upended traditional democratic norms. “After the US election, it became clear this wasn’t an isolated case,” noted the filmmakers.
Running at 90 minutes and currently in post-production, The Alarmist interweaves Shaffir’s personal journey with wider global events remaining in the background, using a mix of direct testimony, voiceover, podcast excerpts, news footage and text to maintain clarity while providing context.
The film marks Tschernia and Slutzky’s first feature-length documentary, and they are actively seeking distributors and financiers, aiming for a release either later this year or in 2026. The project has so far secured €212,062 in confirmed funding from the Danish Film Institute, SVT, Jewish Story Partners and Drive Studios, with €274,471 still to raise towards its total budget of €486,533.
With its intimate lens on a political figure once written off and now vindicated, The Alarmist promises to deliver a timely and sobering portrait of a democracy in decline—and of a woman who saw it coming.
