Israeli actress Gal Gadot is set to co-produce a film adaptation of a novel banned from school reading lists by the Israeli government due to its depiction of an Israeli-Palestinian romance, according to a report in Variety on Wednesday.
The project is based on the 2014 Hebrew novel "Borderlife" by Israeli author Dorit Rabinyan, published in English as "All the Rivers." It tells the story of an Israeli woman who falls in love with a Palestinian man in New York, having to hide their relationship from their friends and family.
The book sparked controversy in Israel back in 2015 when then-education minister, Naftali Bennett, ordered to remove the novel from school reading lists in Israeli schools. The decision, however, ended up boosting the book's sales in the country.
The 34-year-old Hollywood star and her husband, Jaron Varsano, will be co-producing the film through Pilot Wave, the production company the couple founded together, in collaboration with Keshet Studios which owns Channel 12.
Gadot's production company is also set to release a historical thriller about Irena Sendler (played by Gadot herself), a social worker in Poland who rescued thousands of Jewish children during the Holocaust.
The actress rose to prominence after starring in 2017 superhero film "Wonder Woman" and has already wrapped up filming for the highly anticipated sequel, expected to be released in June, 2020.