Private Project

Winning on All Fronts

Orit Ziv (62), the founder of “Pink Lionesses, Israel”, Liora (52), the captain of the group, Ikhlass (55), one of the Arab members and all the women of the “Pink Lionesses team” are dealing with Breast Cancer. This feature length documentary will tell their story.
The “Pink Lionesses” are a unique women sports group whose common goal is to recover and recuperate from breast cancer. They paddle in Dragon Boats, on the Sea of Galilee and the Yarkon River, Israel. The choice of action, caring and camaraderie despite the difficulties and fear of recurrence and death are their moto. It is their way to survive. These 200 Israeli women, aged 29-79, from all walks of life have a common goal – to win on all fronts. Jews and Arabs, religious and secular, all desire to be healthy, want to devour life as best they can under the circumstances and will do everything to achieve their goal.
Breast cancer is the most common type of cancer among women. Every woman is afraid of it as it affects one in seven, of all ages, in all sectors, in all classes. Once a woman is diagnosed, not only does she have to deal with it, but all those around her: families, loved ones, work places. This documentary is about women whom are survivors of breast cancer and what those entails. Some still have an active illness; others live in fear of recurring cancer. All have experienced the illness and the trauma. But on the other hand, being part of a group, a community, is not always that easy. One yearns for a kind of normality, but life is always complicated, especialy among a group of women.
“Pink Lionesses, Israel” are one of 250 such groups in the world. Orit manages the group as a military operation, mobilizing its members, initiating and developing long-term programs to raise awareness for early detection, establish a paddling league in Israel, recruiting more women so that Pink Lionesses, Israel, will become the biggest and most powerful team in the world. This documentary is about the unique way in which the lionesses of Israel deal with it all, a local and very intimate story of a very universal issue.
This feature length documentary I'm proposing here is an expansion and development of a short documentary (17:45) I made titled "Paddling for Life". Some of the materials presented in this proposal are connected to "Paddling for Life" including the screening and awards.

  • Judy Herbstein
    Writer
    Changing Colors, Amal means Hope, Paddling for Life
  • Judy Herbstein
    Director
    Changing Colors, Amal means Hope, Paddling for Life
  • Judy Herbstein
    Producer
    Changing Colors, Amal means Hope, Paddling for Life
  • Orit Ziv
    documentary main characters
  • Liora Morad
    documentary main characters
  • Miki Ackerman
    documentary main characters
  • Iklass
    documentary main characters
  • Project Title (Original Language):
    לנצח בכל החזיתות
  • Project Type:
    Documentary
  • Runtime:
    1 hour
  • Completion Date:
    January 1, 2024
  • Production Budget:
    150,000 USD
  • Country of Origin:
    Israel
  • Country of Filming:
    Israel
  • Language:
    Hebrew
  • Shooting Format:
    Digital
  • Aspect Ratio:
    16:9
  • Film Color:
    Color
  • First-time Filmmaker:
    No
  • Student Project:
    No
Director Biography - Judy Herbstein

Judy Herbstein is a documentary film director, photographer, researcher and producer with a MFA degree from the California Institute of the Arts, Valencia, California and another master's degree in cinema from the Interdisciplinary Arts Program at Tel Aviv University, Israel. She has lived and made news stories and documentary films in the United States, South Africa and Israel. She won an Emmy Award for producing a series of video pieces for "The News Hour", PBS filmed in Hebron (1996). In recent years she has been living in the North of Israel. She teaches filmmaking alongside continuing her work as a creative artist.

Add Director Biography
Director Statement

As a documentary filmmaker I have developed very close and trustworthy relationships with the protagonists. They have put their trust in me and are adamant on getting the message out of the importance of early detection of the cancer. They understand that through their story they can do it. I have close female friends whom don't believe in early detection and won't seek medical checkups to detect breast or ovarian cancer. They drive me crazy, as it is a disease that can be treated if discovered early on. I believe this is a story that must be told to raise awareness, and that I have found a very beautiful and compelling way to do so, through a group of women who love competition and life, even more so, because of the fear of death.
This proposal for a feature length documentary is an expansion on my short documentary
” Paddling for Life” which has been screened at numerous festivals and won some prizes. I quate the Jury’s decision for awarding “Paddling for Life” Best Documentary at the Joyce Forum Jewish Short Film Festival:
Best Documentary
Paddling for Life
Director: Judy Herbstein

This film by Judy Herbstein delivers a message of determination, motivation and strength on the part of female breast cancer survivors. This message is emphasized by the words of a young boy to his mother. “Mom, you are strong. You will overcome this.” The director successfully gives the viewing audience a range of emotions. Everyone is touched by health issues whether it is themselves, a family member or friend. This documentary showcases a rowing club, The Pink Lionesses, as the analogy of the physical strength of women to move their psychological strength forward. As the viewing audience watches the film festival’s #1 documentary film winner, ask yourself if you personally have the physical and emotional strength of these women. The training which these impressive women endure to help conquer their health issues is beyond comprehension. One of the survivors said, “When I’m rowing, that’s all I’m thinking about at the moment.”

The festival’s #1 Documentary film – Paddling for Life. Can you measure up to the standards set by these courageous women?

I have chosen to expand the story because I feel there is so much more to be told about these courageous women and on how they have chosen to live their lives.