Producer, writer, and director Gideon Raff is, perhaps, most well-known for creating the hit Israeli show “Prisoners of War,” and producing and writing several seasons of its American counterpart “Homeland.” A veteran of both television and film, Raff’s latest feature-length effort, “The Red Sea Diving Resort,” tells the important story of a group of Mossad agents (Chris Evans, Haley Bennett, Michiel Huisman, Alessandro Nivola, Alex Hassell), who embark on a covert operation to, with the help of local Kabede Bimro (Michael K. Williams), provide safe passage for persecuted Ethiopian Jews during a time of heightened religious tensions between the first and second civil wars of Sudan in 1977.

A timely true story aching to be told again to a wider audience and boasting an all-star cast that also includes Greg Kinnear and Ben Kingsley, “The Red Sea Diving Resort” is a refreshing change-of-pace for the “Homeland” alumnus.

Ahead of the July 31 release of “The Red Sea Diving Resort” on Netflix, I spoke to Raff about his passion for the history behind the film, how eerily timely it is, the envious cast, capturing authenticity with his period piece in casting Ethiopian Jews and hiring several dialect coaches, Nivola’s angelic voice, and more.

When did you first realize you needed to tell this story?

I was shooting a different show in Croatia, and my producer on this movie, Alexandra [Milchan], called and said, “Did you ever hear the story of the hotel that was used in this operation in Sudan?” And I’m Israeli. I was born and raised in Israel. I’ve never heard of this operation. I heard of the bigger ones later in the ’80s and ’90s, but I never heard about this specific operation. I flew to Israel and I met with the Mossad agents that operated this hotel. And I met with many of the Ethiopians that did this courageous journey of leaving their homes and crossing the desert. And I was so inspired by what I heard and wanted to tell this story. I dropped everything and started writing.

Read the rest of the interview at The Playlist.