UK and Israeli film delegations exchange ideas in London

Delegation of leading players from the British and Israel film industries celebrate UK-Israel Film Co-production Treaty.

By JONNY PAUL JERUSALEM POST CORRESPONDENT
UK culture minister Ed Vaizey and ambassador Daniel Taub 311 (photo credit: Yakir Zur)
UK culture minister Ed Vaizey and ambassador Daniel Taub 311
(photo credit: Yakir Zur)
LONDON – A delegation of leading players from the British and Israel film industries met in London on Tuesday to celebrate the recently ratified UK-Israel Film Co-production Treaty and to exchange ideas to set the agreement in motion.
Meeting at the British Academy of Film and Television Arts in central London, in the presence of UK Minister for Culture Ed Vaizey and Israeli ambassador to the UK Daniel Taub, it was announced that a co-produced film was already in the making.
Gareth Unwin, the Academy Award winning producer behind The King’s Speech, and Israeli director Eran Riklis, who received worldwide acclaim for his film Lemon Tree, announced that pre-production has started on a film titled Zaytoun. Both spoke of the possibilities and opportunities the treaty will bring to both British and Israeli filmmakers.
“Multi-party co-productions are notoriously difficult to structure, with this new treaty we have a great template for how we might all collaborate,” Unwin said.
The treaty provides the legal framework for joint British-Israeli film productions, helping British and Israeli filmmakers share talent and resources, while also paving the way for co-produced films to qualify for tax incentives in both countries.
The agreement emphasizes reciprocity, enabling a balance of cultural benefits and filmmaking contributions.
The agreement was signed by UK Foreign Secretary William Hague and his Israeli counterpart Avigdor Lieberman in Israel last November, marking a milestone in the cultural cooperation between the two countries.
“The treaty will help the UK and Israeli film industries to work together,” Hague said at the time. “We look forward to our filmmakers producing films together that reflect the creativity and diversity of both our countries.”
More than 100 leading lights from the British and Israeli film communities attended the London event, organized by the Israeli Embassy.
Delegates from Israel included Israel Film Fund director Katriel Schory; Talia Kleinhedler, producer of the Oscar-nominated film Ajami; Marek Rozenbaum, one of Israel’s most experienced film-makers; and acclaimed director Jonathan Sagall.
The delegation was supported by the British Israeli Arts Training Scheme, a British Council initiative in partnership with Israel’s Foreign Ministry and the Ministry of Culture and Sport.