The Jerusalem Film Festival was originally planned for mid-July but was postponed until August due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
By HANNAH BROWNJerusalem Film Festival(photo credit: MATAN SHALITA)
The 37th Jerusalem Film Festival (JFF), which was scheduled to take place from August 20-30 at the Jerusalem Cinematheque, has been postponed until December 10, the festival announced on Monday.The winter edition of the festival will coincide with Hanukkah and will run until December 20, 2020, conditions permitting. It will include some of the films that would have been shown in the summer, as well as other movies.The Jerusalem Film Festival was originally planned for mid-July but was postponed until August due to the COVID-19 pandemic.The festival will be holding online programs in the near future, showcasing selected JFF titles on a new streaming platform launched by the Jerusalem Cinematheque-Israel Film Archive.Dr. Noa Regev, director of the Jerusalem Cinematheque and Jerusalem Film Festival, and Elad Samorzik, artistic director of the Jerusalem Film Festival, said in a joint statement, “This is a difficult and painful decision as we have been working on the 37th edition of the Jerusalem Film Festival over the course of the past year. The Festival program has already been finalized with over 150 films from 60 different countries, 10 competitive categories awarding prizes in the amount of NIS 1 million, screenings throughout the city’s neighborhoods, special programs, and a selection of new film ventures.“The August Festival would have provided an important opportunity to spotlight the art of film, nowadays experiencing a major shake-up, as well as the Israeli film industry. We were hoping to offer a note of encouragement to the filmmakers, to the film enthusiasts throughout the country, and to Jerusalem – becoming a major tourist attraction every year during festival time.“We will continue to invest our efforts to promote the art of film in Israel. We believe there is no replacement for the physical encounter created by a film festival and its audience, filmmakers, and film on the big screen, and therefore, we will do everything in our power to hold the winter Jerusalem Film Festival edition during the month of December.”The Jerusalem Film Festival has never before been postponed until the winter, although in 2014 it had to scale back its opening event due to Operation Protective Edge.JFF films will be shown online at jer-cin.org.il/en.
