LOS ANGELES — In 1973, on Israel’s holiest day and during the month of Ramadan, the forces of Egypt, Syria and Jordan attacked the Sinai Peninsula and the Golan Heights in what is known as the Yom Kippur War.

Leading Israel at the time was Golda Meir, who, to this day, has been the country’s only female prime minister.

The film “Golda,” starring Academy Award winner Helen Mirren, looks at the decisions Prime Minister Meir made during 19 days of the Yom Kippur War, which caught her top military advisers by surprised.

Academy Award winner Guy Nattiv, who directed the film, said “Golda” is not a traditional biography of a leader, nor is it a war film. It is a magnified look at a female leader as she nears the end of her life trapped in smokey rooms facing destruction.

“I was born into this war. I grew up in the myth of Golda. I did not know who she was. She was a name of an ice cream in Israel. She really wasn’t a person with feelings and emotions. We didn’t know the depths of who she was. She was the pariah of this war. She was the scapegoat and everyone blamed her. It was important to tell the story of a woman who revolutionized females in leading roles. She paved the way for Angela Merkel and [Margaret] Thatcher,” he told Spectrum News.

Nattiv said the first person who thought of Mirren to play Golda was Gideon Meir, Golda’s grandson.

“He is the one who told producers, ‘She is my choice. I see my grandmother when I look at Helen,’” Nattiv said.

He said Mirren is not only a brilliant actress — calling her one of the greatest actresses of our time — but she is also an amazing human being.

“She sees everything, cares about everyone. She would work so hard, three hours just to become Golda. She is just the best,” said Nattiv.

“Golda” also stars Liev Schreiber as Henry Kissinger, Camille Cottin, Lior Ashkenazi, Rami Heuberger, Rotem Keinan, Dvir Benedek, Ellie Piercy, Henry Goodman, Ed Stoppard and Domonic Mafham.

“Golda” is now playing in theaters.

Click the arrow above to watch the full interview with Guy Nattiv.