Israeli films win at Cannes

The short film, which stars Evgenia Dodina, tells the story of a single mother who finds herself without her son for one day, and tries, in that short space of time, to find a man.

By HANNAH BROWN
EVGENIA DODINA in a scene from Or Sinai’s ‘Anna.’ (photo credit: Courtesy)
EVGENIA DODINA in a scene from Or Sinai’s ‘Anna.’
(photo credit: Courtesy)
 Two Israeli films won prizes at the Cannes Film Festival, which concluded on the evening of May 22.
Or Sinai’s Anna won the Student Film competition in the Cinefondation section.
The short film, which stars Evgenia Dodina, tells the story of a single mother who finds herself without her son for one day, and tries, in that short space of time, to find a man. Sinai is a graduate of the Sam Spiegel Film & Television School, Jerusalem.
Dodina also stars in Asaph Polonsky’s One Week and a Day, which won the GAN Foundation Award in the Critics’ Week competition. Dodina plays a mother whose son has just died, and Shai Avivi, who has been called the Larry David of Israel, portrays her husband. The film follows the couple the day after the shiva (week of mourning) for their son ends. Both parents react to the death very differently, the mother by trying to go back to work right away and the father by smoking what remains of his son’s medical marijuana. The movie was developed in the Jerusalem International Film Lab at the Sam Spiegel School. This award comes with a 20,000 euro prize to help distribute the film. One Week and a Day received a rare standing ovation at Cannes.
Eran Kolirin’s latest film, Beyond the Mountains and Hills, which was shown in the Un Certain Regard section at Cannes, was acquired for distribution in the US by Adopt Films. The company is planning to release it in 2017. Kolirin is best known for his 2007 film, The Band’s Visit, which won three prizes at Cannes.
The Palme d’Or in the Main Competition at Cannes went to Ken Loach’s I, Daniel Blake.
Loach, known for his depictions of working-class life in Britain, has called for Israeli films to be boycotted at international festivals and refused to attend the Haifa International Film Festival a decade ago.