The 23rd edition of Israel’s largest documentary festival – from July 1 to 10 – adopted a hybrid format, meaning that films were screened both in-person and online.
The hybrid model encapsulated the best of both formats. Zoom sessions with filmmakers from around the globe took place amid the liveness of in-person screenings.
Some film lovers were thrilled to go back to the cinema, while others preferred to watch from home. One attendee, Sofia, explained that she felt more comfortable at home, as “I want to put my legs up; I’m not comfortable here.”
Alternately, Shiri, another in-person attendee remarked that she “was a bit afraid. I wore a mask. Not everyone did, though.”
The festival screened over 116 films, both Israeli and international, as well as world premieres and previous festival darlings.
Summer Nights, which follows a six-year-old boy right before he falls asleep every night and beautifully depicts the innocence and imagination of children, won the Israeli competition for Best Film. Helmed by Ohad Milstein, the film is available to watch online until July 31.
In the Depth of the Field category, the engaging film By the Throat, exploring language throughout history, won the Artistic Vision Award.
A Man and a Camera, which uses the object of a camera to explore otherness and marginalization, received an Honorable Mention in the category.
The film Viral, which went on to win Best Editing, profiles seven social media influencers and their experiences through COVID-19.
Examining a slew of fake medical diagnoses, director Timer Heymann uses the power of a video camera to reflect on his own medical identity. The result is I Am Not, which wound up winning both Best Director and Best Cinematography for Heymann.
The Therapy, which illustrates what occurs at conversion therapy practices wounded up winning the Special Jury Award. For Best Debut Film, Shir Newman’s How to Say Silence won. Newman’s film depicts how a single photograph reveals a history of patriarchal control over women’s bodies in the early days of Israel. The film refuses to stay silent on the issue.
Blue Box, which remarkably tells the history of the Jewish National Fund’s Blue Boxes and how these boxes wound up furthering national development, had its world premiere at HotDocs. The film won the Research Award at this year’s DocAviv.
For those who missed the festival, almost 80 of the films are able to be screened online for the remainder of the month.