Jerusalem Film Festival 2013: Competition Winners

It’s been an exciting week in Jerusalem, with about 80,000 people attending the festival over the course of the week. There are more films to see and enjoy, but the competitions came to a festive conclusion last night, and here is the announcement of the winners:

The Haggiag Family Award for Israeli Cinema in Memory of Robert Nissim for Best Full-Length Feature Film: Youth

The award, in the amount of NIS 100,000, goes to director Tom Shoval and producers Gal Greenspan, Roi Kurland, Moshe & Leon Edery for the film “Youth.”

Jury statement: We believe this is an enormously powerful work, one that captures and expresses an achingly loneliness that goes far beyond the very particular story it narrates.

The Pirchi Family Award in Memory of Anat Pirchi for Best First or Second Israeli feature: She’s Coming Home

The Pirchi Family Award in Memory of Anat Pirchi for Best First or Second Israeli feature, in the amount of 25,000 NIS, goes to director Maya Dreifuss, for the film “She’s Coming Home.”

Jury statement: A bold, unsettling work that challenges the audience to continually re-orient its relationship to its fascinating if often enigmatic characters.

The Pirchi Family Award in Memory of Anat Pirchi for Best Screenplay in a Full-Length Feature: Arabani

The Pirchi Family Award in Memory of Anat Pirchi for Best Screenplay in a Full-Length Feature in the amount of 25,000 NIS goes to scriptwriter Adi Adwan, for the film “Arabani.”

Jury statement: The film followed a complex human drama as it simultaneously revealed aspects of an unknown culture to us—while respecting that culture’s right to maintain its mystery.

The Haggiag Family Award for Israeli Cinema in Memory of Robert Nissim for Acting:

Best Actress, in the amount of NIS 10,000, goes to Tali Sharon for her role in “She’s Coming Home. ”
Jury Statement: It’s extraordinary to see someone give themselves over so totally to their performance, and yet at the same time maintain an air of mystery about themselves, something that makes us want to keep discovering more and more about her.

Best Actor, in the amount of NIS 10,000, goes to David & Eitan Cunio for their roles in “Youth.”
Jury Statement: Our award for Best Actor will be shared by two young actors, and yet while each gives his own outstanding performance, the intensity of their on screen relationship makes it especially fitting that they will both be this festival’s Best Actor.

Awards for Cinematpgraphy, Editing, and Music:

The Haggiag Family Award for Israeli Cinema in Memory of Robert Nissim Award for Editing in the amount of 10,000 NIS goes to Joelle Alexis for editing work on the film “Youth.”

The Haggiag Family Award for Israeli Cinema in Memory of Robert Nissim Award for Music in the amount of 10,000 NIS goes to Ran Bagno for his work on the film “Fragile.”

The Van Leer Group Foundation Award for Cinematography in a Full-Length Film in the amount of 10,000 NIS goes to Shai Peleg for his work on the film “She’s Coming Home.”

Short Film Awards:

The Van Leer Group Foundation Award for Best Student Short Narrative Film in the amount of 20,000 NIS, goes to Yotam Ben-David, for the film “Remains.”

Jury statement: A remarkable film that in its own unique way offers an affecting look at modern relationships at a moment when all the rules have changed.”

Honorable Mention goes to Ehab Tarabieh for the film “The Forgotten ” and Gan de Langefor the film “Babaga.”

The Adélie Hoffenberg Award for Independent Israeli Short Film in the amount of 15,000 NIS goes Tamar Baruch for the film “Gloria.”

Jury statement: The beautifully photographed, wry chronicle of a brief encounter between an overly literary young man and his father’s young girlfriend very, very late one night.”

Honorable Mention goes to Peleg Levi for the film “Cocoon (Golem) ” and Michelle and Uri Kranot for “The Hollow Land.”
Members of the Jury: Richard Peña, Tawfik Abu Wael, Evegenia Dodina, Sarig Peker, Mihal Brezis.

The Van Leer Group Foundation Award for Best Documentary Film: Life Sentences

The Van Leer Group Foundation Award for Best Documentary Film, in the amount of 35,000 NIS, goes to directors and producers Nurit Kedar & Yaron Shani for the film “Life Sentences.”

Jury statement: A remarkable documentary, portrait of a man whose very body and soul reflect Israel and Palestine complexities.

The Best Director of a Documentary Film Award, in the amount of 20,000 NIS, goes to Halil Efrat, for the film “Album 61.”

Jury statement: A wonderful display of the documentary director’s art. Turning the world chess championship into a nerve wracking drama and a careful examination of the impact of parental ambition.

Honorable Mention goes to Nissim Mossek for the film “Wild West Hebron” and Shosh Shlam & Hila Medalia for “Electronic Heroin.”

Members of the Jury: Kenneth Turan, Rachel Leah Jones, Dror Moreh, Brian Winston, Naomi Levari.

The “In the Spirit of Freedom” Awards in Memory of Wim Van Leer:

The Feature Award goes to director Danis Tanovic, , for the film “An Episode in the Life of an Iron Picker.”

Jury statement: The movie mixes and blends in a virtuosic fashion the documentary and fiction, making the viewer aware of the immense efforts it takes to simply keep things in their usually miserably level of poverty.

The Ostrovsky Family Foundation Award goes to director Rithy Pahn, for the documentary film “The Missing Picture”.

Jury statement: This is a riveting movie of the kind that has not been seen in years… The cinematic language is hauntingly poetic, never turning a horrifying history into the spectacle of itself.

Honorable Mention goes to Jose Luis Valle for the film “Workers”.
The Members of the Jury: Avner Faingulerant, Hagar Ben Asher, Eva Ilouz.

The Jewish Experience Awards Endowed by Leon and Michaela Constantiner

The Lia Award, presented by the Joan Sourasky-Constantiner Holocaust Multimedia Research Center of the Jerusalem Cinematheque, in the amount of $3000, goes to director Diana Gróo for the film “Regina.”
Jury Statement: Using archival footage, fragments of letters, snippets of memoirs, and her own ingenuity, Gróo has brought a long-gone spirit back to life and in doing so, introduced us all to a brave and utterly singular woman.

The Avner Shalev Yad Vashem Chairman’s Award, presented by the Yad Vashem Visual Center, in the amount of $3,000 goes to director Wladyslaw Pasikowski, for the film Aftermath.

Jury Statement: Aftermath is a gripping journey into the heart of the Holocaust’s darkness, a film that manages both to reckon with the most painful of historical events and to bring them eerily to life in the present tense.

Honorable Mention goes to Yoav Halevy for the film Bureau 06.

Jury Statement: This documentary reveals the behind the scenes of that historic trial in a dynamic and moving way.

Members of the Jury: Ami Drozd, Adina Hoffman, Régina-Mihal Friedman.

The Israeli Video-Art and Experimental Film Awards

First Prize in Memory of Murray L. Galinson for Experimental Films and Video Works goes to “Marganith” directed by Tzion Abraham Hazan.

The Second Place winner, courtesy of the Ostrovsky Family Foundation goes to “Barking Dogs Don’t Bite” directed by Alona Rodeh and to Shelf Life directed by Keren Shavit.

Members of the Jury: Prof. Ryszard Kluszczynski, Maayan Amir, Dr. Roy Brand

The Jerusalem Pitch Point

The Jerusalem Pitch Point is a meeting place for Israeli filmmakers and producers with key-members of the international film industry, to encourage and promote international co-productions with Israeli full-length fiction feature films.

The 8th Jerusalem Pitch Point winners:
The International Relations ARTE Prize goes to: “The Burglar ” by director Hagar Ben Asher.
The Van Leer Award goes to: “Ben Zaken ” by director Efrat Corem.
The CNC Award goes to: “Tikkun” by director Avishay Sivan.

Honorable Mention goes to director Amichai Greenberg for the film “The Testament.”