Beneath the Helmet: From High School to the Home Front is a coming of age story that follows the lives of five Israeli high school graduates who are recruited to serve in the army paratrooper brigade for their compulsory military service - which is viewed in Israel as a rite of passage into Israeli society.

[1] The filmmakers follow a lone volunteer soldier from Switzerland, an Ethiopian immigrant, a grandson of Holocaust survivors, a female sergeant who originally planned to evade army service, and the unit commander.

The son of an American mother and a Yemenite father, Eden grew up in the Western Galilee town of Kfar Vradim.

Eden sees his task as not just about making good soldiers, but about inspiring his recruits to grow, change and become involved citizens after their army service.

Despite the fact that they come from different worlds, Mekonan has forged a deep friendship with Swiss immigrant and fellow soldier Oren Giladi.

She is a drill sergeant at Michvei Alon, a pre-basic training program that helps soldiers successfully integrate into the IDF.