Asaph Polonsky won the Haggiag Award for Best Israeli Feature Film for his debut feature One Week and A Day, as well as Best First Film and Best Script, and the Fipresci Award for Best Israeli Debut. Pololsky’s comedy addresses serious themes with sensitivity and a smile. Featuring outstanding performances by Shai Avivi, Evgenia Dodina and Tomer Kapon, the film strikes a universal chord, while reflecting nuanced aspects of Israeli culture and relationships. Produced by Saar Yogev and Naomi Levari, the film held its world premiere at Cannes 2016 Critic’s Week. Members of the jury: Andreas Sinanos, Azize Tan, Boyd van Hoeij, Esther Hoffenberg and Asi Levi. From the jury statement: “For a constant and impressive command of tone and his fine work with a small cast, this young director displays a surprising maturity.”
The dialogue between Israeli culture and international film is enhanced by a new award initiated this year – The Wilf Family Foundation Award for Best International Film. The award is intended to focus attention on quality international films, increasing the public’s awareness of these films and encouraging their distribution in Israel. The award was presented to The Death of Louis XIV by Albert Serra. Starring Jean-Pierre Léaud, the film held its world premiere at Cannes 2016. Members of the jury for this award were: Alison Thompson (Cornerstone Films), Icelandic director Grímur Hákonarson (Rams), and the Israeli director Talya Lavie (Zero Motivation). From the jury statement: “For creating a bold and distinctive chamber piece in a beautifully detailed world. For its stunning set design and cinematography that captures its period brilliantly. For creating an intimate and moving look at the sunset of a great figure in history.”
A War, directed by Tobias Lindholm, received an honorable mention.
Israeli Film Competition Awards:
Members of the Jury: Andreas Sinanos, Azize Tan, Boyd van Hoeij, Esther Hoffenberg and Asi Levi.
The Van Leer Award for Best Documentary Film was presented to Dimona Twist, directed by Michal Aviad, produced by Ayelet Kait and Amir Harel. Jury statement: “A touching and emotional film, richly illustrated with choice archive footage, with a unique female perspective, which describes the challenges of trying to build a life in a new state.”
The Van Leer Award for Best Director of a Documentary was presented to Maya Zinshtein for Forever Pure.
The Haggiag Award for Best Actress was presented to Shiree Nadav-Naor for her performance in Beyond the Mountains and Hills.
The Haggiag Award for Best Actor was presented to Moris Cohen for his performance in Our Father.
The Van Leer Award for Best Cinematography was presented to Yaron Scharf for Harmonia.
The Haggiag Award for Best Editing was presented to Justine Wright and Noam Amit for editing Forever Pure.
The Haggiag Award for Best Music was presented to Ruth Dolores Weiss for We Had a Forest.
The Audience Favorite Award was presented to Saving Neta directed by Nir Bergman, produced by Chilik Michaeli, Tami Leon, Avraham Pirchi.
Repeat screenings of One Week and A Day, Death of Louis XIV, Laurie Anderson’s Heart of a Dog and more on Sunday, July 17th – times and tickets online via this link.
