By MICHAL KORACH
Israel's film industry has been flourishing in recent years. This can be seen in the large increase in the number of Israeli films produced annually and that have received prestigious awards in multiple festivals around the world. This bloom can be attributed, at least in part, to the application of the new Israeli Film Law, passed in 2001, which significantly increased the film industry's budget. Between the years 2004 and 2008, the government decided to allocate NIS 58 million every year for the Israeli film industry. Between 2009 and 2013, the sum was increased to NIS 67 million per year.
Between 1995 and 1999, an average of eight feature-length films were produced in Israel each year, compared with an average of 16 films produced annually between 2000-2004 and 23 films produced annually between 2005-2008. By way of comparison, during the same time period, the two largest film industries in Europe - France and Britain - produced an average of 16 and 10 films, respectively, per year. In the United States, which is home to the largest film industry in the world, an average of 130 films are produced each year.
In 2008, the district of Jerusalem had four active movie theaters, with a total of 3,400 seats, and their combined sales reached 741,200 tickets. (These figures include only movie theaters that are members of the Film Industry Association but not cinematheques.) The greatest number of tickets was sold in the Tel Aviv district: 5.1 million; and in Israel's Central district: 1.9 million.
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