The 26th Tel Aviv International Student Film Festival (TISFF) announced the award winners tonight in a festive ceremony that took place tonight at the Tel Aviv Cinematheque.
Festival Directors Ori Arthur Wolf and Gal Ostrinsky released a statement: “We are excited to announce the winners and through the platform of the festival enable the continued creative work of so many talented students who represent the future generation of cinema. We were happy to see that despite the uncertainty and difficulties due to the war, the festival took place and gave some hope and enjoyment to its viewers. This year, more than ever, the cinema was full of viewer who were excited to see the student films and short independent films, and we thank everyone who participated.”
Israeli Competition
Judges: Lars Henrik Gass, Shauly Melamed, and Shoshi Korman.
Sun Light Falls written and directed by Shimon Machluf (Minshar School of Art Tel Aviv) was awarded Best Film in the Israeli Competition. The judges’ statement: In this impressive and minimalist cinematic work, the filmmaker succeeds in conveying the unique inner world of two children, who deliver a beautiful performance. Every choice in the film is precise and creates a moving cinematic journey, as if it were effortless. The filmmaker succeeds in conveying the children’s life experience with being childish, and in doing so, revives those dark and lonely memories of childhood that live within the minds of most of us.”
Bat-Saar Raviv (The Steve Tisch School of Film and Television, Tel Aviv University, Israel) won the award for Most Promising Director for the film Things I Remember from Summer 2004. Tammy Mamistvalov won the award for Best Screenplay for the film Mamis Tvalebi. Shay Ater, Rachel Albert, and G Latz won the award for Best Cinematography for the film Tshuva. Itamar Gross won the award for Best Editing for the film Water and Fuel. Orly Appel won the award for Best Actor for her performance in the film More Oxygen Please. The Audience Favorite Award was received by the film Mirror Image, written and directed by Naama Lahav. Musical Chairs, written and directed by Amit Erall, received an Honorable Mention.
International Competition
Judges: Veselka Kiryakova, Paloma Schachmann, Nili Feller, Mara Marxsen, and Dani Rosenberg.
Paul and Paul, written and directed by Hugo Drechsler (Netherlands Film Academy), was awarded Best Film in the International Competition. The judges’ statement: “A human story that navigates from a family tragedy to absurd moments, and all this, within a stormy family story and through the intelligent and virtuoso use of screenwriting tools.”
Daria Kashcheeva won the award for Most Promising Director for the film Electra. Emanuela Muzzupappa won the award for Best Screenplay for the film Ancella D’Amore. Anton Gromov won the award for Best Cinematography for the film Runaway. Titouan Ropert won the award for Best Editing for the film The Song of the Beasts. Mlk Al Halabi was awarded an Honorable Mention for a Debut Film for the film A State of Absence. Honorable Mentions were awarded to the films Single Light, written and directed by Shaylee Atary, and The Need of a Witness, written and directed by Mariana Sanguinetti and Renzo Cozza.
Short Independent Competition
Judges for the Short Independent Competition are: Asaf Saban, Hila Yuval, and Sydney Neter.
Before Sunrise, written and directed by Yoav Biran won the award for Best Film in the Short Independent Film Competition. Judges’ statement: “Through three apparently unrelated episodes, we take a strange and fascinating journey through the land of Israel – in the East, North, and South. From the border, the film directs its look inward, to Israeli society, and to the situation that until a bit less than a year ago seemed impossible, and has now become the reality that is changing the face of the land and its people. With great wisdom, a sensitive eye and delicate hand, the film looks with irony on an absurd reality, and succeeds in expressing, in an original manner, the tension that exists in cinema between fiction and reality. Thus, the scenes taking place on the borders also move on the border of absurd hallucination and painful reality. We felt that the film sets a mirror before us, with an image sharp and clear, of the current moment in history, whose future is still deep in fog.”
Nikolay Kouleshov won the award for Best Director for the film Winter Flowers. Pickles, written and directed by Ania Kaspi Shema and Miri Dochikian, was awarded an Honorable Mention. The Audience Favorite Award was given to the film Lip Virgin, written and directed by Shimrit Eldis.
The Israeli Film Critics Association (Shany Littman, Pablo Utin, Marlyn Vinig) selected Heart Hug, written and directed by Rimma Gefen and Nika Zhukova for the Best Film Award, and awarded Honorable Mentions to Ugh, Listen!; Single Light; Between Ha’Negev and Ha’Galil, Mamis Tvalebi, and Ticklish.
The International Competition for Video Art and Experimental Cinema
Judges: Ori Levin, Sharon Balaban, and Roy Menachem Markovich.
Amphibolos Lithos, written and directed by Valery Grysha, won the award for Best Project. Little Boney and his Winter Extinguisher (at last!) received an Honorable Mention.
The International Digital Media Competition
Judges: Mayan Rogel, Eran Lazar, and Ran Bensimon.
Walker, by Jonathan Oberklied, received the award for Best Project.
Short on the Way, a collaboration between the Gesher Multicultural Film Fund and the Tel Aviv International Student Film Festival has awarded a production development grant to Yahli Maoz for Carmen, and an Honorable Mention to Ala Dakka.
*Information on the awards is from a press release in Hebrew, the translations are mine.
