Israel Academy for Film and Television competition for the 2012 Ophir Awards will open on May 13, 2012, and will take place during the months of May, June and July at the Tel Aviv Cinematheque. 31 feature films and 38 documentaries have entered the competition this year, a significant increase from last year, particularly in documentary films; in 2011 there were 26 features and 18 documentaries.
In recognition of the large number of low budget/independent films (under 1,000,000 NIS) produced in Israel, the academy is introducing an additional optional category to the Best Feature Film competition. Makers of low-budget films may choose to compete as usual, or in this new track. The implementation of this new category will be seen in the counting, as all films will be viewed as usual. However, once all the films competing in the Best Feature Film have been ranked and the five top films will make it as nominees, another round of vote counting will take place among those films choosing to compete in the “low-budget/independent” category, and the film with the most votes will be added to the list of nominated films, for a total of six films. The change is intended to level the prize-nomination playing field, increasing the chances of an independent film making it into the running.
There has been a major change in the nomination process for documentary films. In the past, the films were viewed by lectors who chose 20 films to compete; these films were viewed by the members of the academy who then voted on the nominees. This system has been abolished, and this year all 38 films will be streamed online to the members of the academy on a secure site.
The films nominated for the Ophir Awards will be announced at a press conference in August, and then a second round of screenings will take place before the final vote. Winners will be announced at the Ophir Awards Ceremony, which will take place in September 2012.
Films participating in the feature film competition are: “Igor and the Cranes,” directed by Yevgeni Roman; “Man Without a Cellphone,” directed by Sameh Zoabi; “Never Too Late,” directed by Ido Fluk; “Balada Le’Aviv Haboche,” directed by Benny Toraty; Jo & Belle, directed by Roni Kedar; Dr. Pomerantz, directed by Assi Dayan; “Hadilerim,” directed by Oded Davidoff; “Hahayim Bentayim,” directed by Aner Preminger; “God’s Neighbors,” directed by Meni Yaesh; “Hamesima X,” directed by Yuval Ovadia, Or Yashar and Prosper Malka; “Yossi,” directed by Eytan Fox; “The World is Funny,” directed by Shemi Zarhin; “Armand’s Kites,” directed by Moshe Zeevi; “Last Days in Jerusalem,” directed by Tawfik Abu Wael; “Take 2,” directed by Tommy Lang; “Room 514,” directed by Sharon Bar-Ziv; “Taka Mama,” directed by Ariel Cohen; “Tayara,” directed by Tommy Lang; “Yoter Iti Milev,” directed by Yoni Zicholtz; “Filling the Void,” directed by Rama Burstein; “Laredet Mehaetz,” directed by Gur Bentwich; “Menatek Hamayim,” directed by Idan Hovel; “Ma’asiya Urbanit,” directed by Eliav Lilty; “Hayuta and Berl,” directed by Amir Manor; “By Summer’s End,” directed by Noa Aharoni; “Another World,” directed by Eitan Reuven; “Alata,” directed by Michael Meir; “Single +,” directed by Dover Kosashvili; “Rock the Casbah,” directed by Yariv Horowitz; “Reach Poalim,”directed by Gudis Schneider; and “Snails in the Rain,”directed by Yariv Mozer.
Documentary films participating in the competition this year: “Alef Techasel Otam,” directed by Levi Zini and Gidi Weitz; “Ahavoteya shel Lea Koenig,” directed by Tali Ohayun; “Zilber and I,” directed by Roy Zilber; “The Well of Milk in the Center of Town,” directed by Uri Barabash; “Ameer Got His Gun,” directed by Naomi Levari; “Invisible Men,” directed by Yariv Mozer; “Hagever Hazeh Hu Ani,” directed by Shiri Shahar; “The Dreamers,” directed by Efrat Shalom-Danon; “Halevai Shetamuti,” directed by Amalia Margolin; “Hen Efshar (Haim Hefer – the Story Behind the Songs)” directed by Eitan Oren; “Miba’ad La’Einayim – Yoni Hamenahem,” directed by Yael Kloppmann; “Life in Stills,” directed by Tamar Tal; “Hashuk Hatzahov,” directed by Shani Haziza; “Zchut Avot,” directed by Yishri Halpern; “Honi HaMa’agel – After the Flood,” directed by Uzi Yahav; “Hitler’s Children,” directed by Chanoch Ze’evi; “One Day After Peace,” directed by Miri and Erez Laufer; “Yaldat Pele,” directed by Harela Hodaya Masula; “But Why Did You Dance Naked?” directed by Zohar Wagner; “Kaparot Sababa C’est Tout,” directed by Ehud Segev; “Thou Shalt Not Dance,” directed by Eyal Sela and Yochai Shalom Hadod; “White Nights,” directed by Irit Gal; “No Full Stop,” directed by Shlomo Slutzsky; “Mutarot,” directed by David Ofek; “Who Shot My Father?” directed by Liora Amir-Barmatz; “Turbulence,” directed by Roni Livneh and Kobi Davidian; “November ’08,” directed by Daniel Sivan; “Cinema Jenin,” directed by Marcus Vetter; “Numbered,” directed by Dana Doron and Uriel Sinai; “Testimony,” directed by Shlomi Elkabetz; “Iraq ‘N’ Roll,” directed by Gili Gaon; “Shadows in Palestine,” directed by David Golan; “Café Europa,” directed by Tzipi Trope; “Revah,” directed by Sigalit Banai; “Six Million and One,” directed by David Fisher; “Belfast Blues,” directed by Itamar Handelman-Smith, Eamonn Devlin, and Itai Lev; “The Law in These Parts,” directed by Ra’anan Alexandrowicz; “Tlooyim Ba’avir,” directed by Rami A. Katz.
