TA International Student Film Festival celebrates its 25th year

The guests of honor from abroad, as well as Israeli filmmakers, will hold master classes and screen their films, some for the first time, in front of an Israeli audience.

 ‘ICE MERCHANTS’  (photo credit: Joao Gonzalez)
‘ICE MERCHANTS’
(photo credit: Joao Gonzalez)

The 25th International Student Film Festival will celebrate its anniversary with a lineup of award-winning films and acclaimed guests, to be held June 25-July 1 at the Tel Aviv Cinematheque, as well as other venues around the city. 

The guests of honor from abroad, as well as Israeli filmmakers, will hold master classes and screen their films, some for the first time, in front of an Israeli audience.

President of the festival is Hollywood producer Lawrence Kasanoff, who cofounded the Lightstorm Entertainment company with James Cameron; he produced, among many other titles, True Lies and the Mortal Kombat film series. 

Who else will be at the International Student Film Festival in Tel Aviv?

Among the guests of the festival will be German director Christian Petzold (Phoenix, Transit),  Jessica Hausner (Little Joe), Agnieszka Smoczynska (The Silent Twins), and cinematographer Diego Garcia, whose work includes the series, Too Old to Die Young.

About 100 short films from 25 countries, including Ukraine, Colombia and Poland, will participate in the festival’s competitions this year. Among the films participating in the International Competition will be Joao Gonzalez’s Oscar-nominated short, The Ice Merchants, and Conspiracy Man by Valerio Ferrara, which won the Cinefondation Award at the Cannes Film Festival in 2022. 

Tel Aviv cinematheque (credit: DR. AVISHAI TEICHER/WIKIMEDIA COMMONS)
Tel Aviv cinematheque (credit: DR. AVISHAI TEICHER/WIKIMEDIA COMMONS)

There will also be an Israeli competition, as well as many events, which will be announced on the festival website, www.taufilmfest.com/?lang=en

The festival, established in 1986 by students from the Steve Tisch School of Film and Television at Tel Aviv University, is considered one of the most prestigious and diverse student film festivals in the world. For years, the festival was held every other year but now takes place annually.