November is a relatively quiet month on the local film festival scene, except
for the International Women’s Film Festival, which opens on November 5 this year
in Rehovot. More on that next week, but the website is up and running at
http://www.en.iwff.net/ Will Israel have another Oscar nominee this year? Fill
the Void, which won the Ophir Award, is Israel’s official entry for
consideration for a Best Foreign Language Film nominee, but 70 other countries
just submitted their films as well. The short list for the category will be
announced in early January, and the five nominees will be announced on January
10. It’s always hard to predict the nominees in this category, and it’s
considered a strong year for many of the European entries. However, many Oscar
watchers are calling Fill the Void a dark horse and, according to a few Oscar
voters, has a good chance of making the short list, so keep your fingers
crossed.
Israel has had Oscar nominees in four of out of the last five
years. The one Israeli film during recent years that didn’t get a nod was Eran
Ricklis’s The Human Resources Manager. But there have been two nominees about
the Lebanon War – Beaufort and Waltz with Bashir – one about Talmud scholars
(Footnote) and one about Jews and Arabs in Jaffa – Ajami. So a movie like Fill
the Void, about a young haredi woman, has as good a chance as
any.
Meanwhile, London filmgoers will have the opportunity to view about
a dozen recent Israeli films when the 16th London Jewish Film Festival gets
underway on November 1. This year’s extremely varied programming list includes
such recent Israeli films as Yossi, Sharquiya and God’s Neighbors. For
the full schedule, go to
http://ukjewishfilm.org/festival-2012
The full list of
European Film Award nominations will be announced on November 3, and you can
expect to see several Israeli films among the nominees as has been the case in
recent years. While these awards may not get nearly as much press as the Oscars,
they carry a great deal of prestige in Europe and now include films that are
widely shown in Europe, although they are not strictly European in origin. Rama
Burshtein’s Fill the Void will not be among the nominees because the submission
process closed relatively early. The Israeli films in the running are Nadav
Lapid’s Policeman and Eran Kolirin’s The Exchange. Kolirin was recognized at the
EFAs in 2007 when he won the Discovery Award for The Band’s Visit and lead actor
Sasson Gabai won Best Actor for his role in that film. I would not be surprised
to see The Exchange get a Best Screenplay nod, while Yiftach Klein has a good
shot at a Best Actor nomination for his title role in Policeman. The awards will
be presented in Malta on December 1. Like Eurovision, the ceremony moves
from country to country.
Due to Israel’s hard-to-classify position in the
film world, Israeli films also have a strong presence in the Asia Pacific Screen
Awards, which will be given out on November 23 in Brisbane,
Australia. Two Israeli films, My Australia and Off-White Lies, are
nominated in the children’s film category, while in the documentary category,
Five Broken Cameras and The Law in These Parts are among the nominees. Lior
Ashkenazi received a Best Actor nod for his performance in Footnote. To follow
these awards, go to
http://www.asiapacificscreenacademy.com/.
And
speaking of Asia, the Hong Kong Jewish Film Festival is celebrating its bar
mitzva year this November. Starting on the November 10, it will begin its 13th
year of programming. It features the best in Jewish-themed features, shorts and
documentaries, including films from Israel. The audience is about one-third
locals, so it makes for an interesting mix. To find out more about it, check out
the website at
http://hkjff.org/.
During Hanukka, we can all look forward
to the Jerusalem Jewish Film Festival, but until then there is more than enough
happening on the Israeli film scene to keep film lovers busy here.