Internationally renowned and a peak cultural event in Israel, the Jerusalem Film Festival has just announced a change in dates due to the recent extreme rise in COVID-19 cases, and the ensuing new restrictions. Ceasing operations on the festival scheduled to take place from August 20 – 30, the festival management has decided to hold a winter edition of the festival between December 10 – 20, 2020.
Taking place during the Hannukah holiday, the festival will include a selection of films originally scheduled for the summer edition, as well as new titles. The Jerusalem Film Festival will soon announce an online program of JFF films, to be shown on the streaming platform of the Jerusalem Cinematheque-Israel Film Archive.
Dr. Noa Regev, Director of the Jerusalem Cinematheque and Jerusalem Film Festival, and Elad Samorzik, Artistic Director of the Jerusalem Film Festival said:
“This is a difficult and painful decision as we have been working on the 37th edition of the Jerusalem Film Festival over the course of the past year. The Festival program has already been finalized with over 150 films from 60 different countries, ten competitive categories awarding prizes in the amount of 1 million NIS, screenings throughout the city’s neighborhoods, special programs, and a selection of new film ventures.”
“The August Festival would have provided an important opportunity to spotlight the art of film, nowadays experiencing a major shakeup, as well as the Israeli film industry. We were hoping to offer a note of encouragement to the filmmakers, to the film enthusiasts throughout the country, and to Jerusalem – becoming a major tourist attraction every year during Festival time.”
“We will continue to invest our efforts to promote the art of film in Israel. We believe there is no replacement for the physical encounter created by a film festival and its audience, filmmakers, and film on the big screen, and therefore, we will do everything in our power to hold the winter Jerusalem Film Festival edition during the month of December.”
[…] ***UPDATE***The Jerusalem Film Festival announced a change in dates due to the recent extreme rise in COVID-19 cases, and the ensuing new restrictions. Ceasing operations on the festival scheduled to take place from August 20 – 30, the festival management has decided to hold a winter edition of the festival between December 10 – 20, 2020. See the full announcement here: https://www.midnighteast.com/mag/?p=51877 […]
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