2015 Festival

09-19.07.2015

Opening film: Mia Madre, dir.: Nanni Moretti

The Haggiag award for best Israeli feature goes to Tikkun, by director Avishai Sivan

The Van Leer award for best Israeli documentary goes to Hotline, by director Silvina Landsmann

Last Night (Thursday, July 16th), The 32nd Jerusalem Film Festival, closing this coming Sunday announced the winners of its various competitions. The film festival is an international attraction, drawing in tens of thousands of viewers who come to watch high-quality Israeli and international cinema.

 This year, the festival's guest of honor was actor John Torturro, who stars in the opening feature Mia Madre, by acclaimed director Nanni Moretti. The festival was also attended by a long line of other leading filmmakers from around the world, including Austrian director Ulrich Seidl and Dieter Kosslick, director of the Berlin Film Festival.

Over 200 films were screened at this year's festival, including several national premiers for outstanding films from some of the world's major festivals. These were presented within the various international sections, including In the Spirit of Freedom, Debuts, Gala, Panorama and others. The festival also hosted a variety of workshops, pitching sessions, master classes and "meet the filmmakers" events, receptions for the film industry guests and journalists from Israel and abroad, a prestigious film lab for promising young filmmakers and more.

Tonight, awards were presented to the winners of the various competitions, including the Haggiag Award for best Israeli feature film, conferring a sum of 120,000 ILS – the highest award given today in any Israeli festival.

The Haggiag Competition for Full-Length Israeli Features

The Haggiag Award for Best Israeli Feature Film granting 120,000 ILS:

Tikkun, directed by Avishai Sivan, produced by Ronen Ben Tal, Moshe and Leon Edery.

Motivation of the Jury: For its very impressive artistic achievement in telling a deep and delicate story with great sensitivity.

The Anat Pirchi Award for Best First Film granting 20,000 ILS

Wedding Doll, directed and produced by Nitzan Gilady.

Motivation of the Jury: For its tender and beautifully shot portrayal of women trying to break out of their limitations.

The Anat Pirchi Award for Best Script granting 10,000 ILS

Avishai Sivan for his film Tikkun.

Motivation of the Jury: For creating and exploring a closed and claustrophobic world with convincing characters and unpredictable yet credible twists.

The Haggiag Award for Best Actor granting 10,000 ILS

Khalifa Natour for his role in Tikkun.

Motivation of the Jury: For his subtle and deep interpretation of the father as an overwhelming presence and the emotional lead of the film.

The Haggiag Award for Best Actress granting 10,000 ILS

Asi Levi for her performance in Wedding Dolls.

Motivation of the Jury: For her strong, expressive and moving performance as a loving and overprotective mother.

The Van Leer Award for Best Cinematography granting 9,000 ILS

Shai Goldman for filming Tikkun.

Motivation of the Jury: For painting striking, ethereal black and white images that created a fully realized cinematic world.

The Haggiag Award for Best Editing granting 10,000 ILS

Reut Han, Yoav Paz and Doron Paz for editing JeruZalem.

Motivation of the Jury: For adding a very creative and dynamic expression to a cheeky B movie, making a strong case for Jerusalem as the perfect location for a zombie film.

Israel Critics’ Forum Award for Best Feature Film

A.K.A. Nadia, directed by Tova Ascher, produced by Estee Yacov-Mecklberg, Haim Mecklberg.

Motivation of the Jury: The Israel Critics’ Forum Award for Best Feature Film is presented to A.K.A. Nadia by Tova Ascher for a profound and articulate discussion of issues of identity and belonging to a place and a family. The director offers an intricate portrait of a reality that is grounded in separation walls, checkpoints and segregation. The film examines whether one can create oneself anew within a tragic political context, by presenting a fascinating, complex and touching human story. In addition, the jury would like to commend Tikkun by director Avishai Sivan, for its exceptional artistic language.

The Audience Favorite Award

JeruZalem, directed by Yoav Paz, Doron Paz, produced by Yoav Paz, Doron Paz, Nir Miretzky and Rotem Levim.

The Van Leer Competition for Israeli Documentary Cinema

The Van Leer Award for Best Documentary Film granting 30,000 ILS

Hotline, directed by Silvina Landsmann, produced by Silvina Landsmann, Pierre-Olivier Bardet.

Motivation of the Jury: For its impressive achievement in exposing the complexity of current human rights politics in Israel, imposing questions about layers of responsibilities and shining a light on one of the most urgent issues of our time: the treatment of refugees.

The Van Leer Award for Best Director of a Documentary granting 18,000 ILS

Nirit Aharoni for her film, Strung Out.

Motivation of the Jury: Nirit Aharoni immersed herself body and soul in her film, which she also shot, giving us a very intimate, painful and humanistic view of damaged life.

The Haggiag Award for Best Music granting 10,000 ILS

The jury has elected to present this award to a musician who contributed to a documentary: Ophir Leibovitch, for his work in Strung Out.

Motivation of the Jury: The atmospheric music in Strung Out adds a layer to the story, making the viewing experience more complex, emotional and even physical.

Honorary Mention to a Documentary

Thru You Princess, directed by Ido Haar, produced by Liran Aztmor.

Motivation of the Jury: Through the wonderful combination of YouTube storytelling, powerful music and a strong heroine, this film manages to bring a story that is both global and personal to an uplifting happy ending. A film that is easy to fall in love with.

The jury of the Israeli Feature Film Competition was comprised of Elma Tataragić from the Sarajevo Film Festival, Matthijs Wouter Knol from the Berlin Film Festival/EFM, Turkish director Tayfun Pirselimoğlu and Israeli film critic Yael Shuv.

The Wim Van Leer "In the Spirit of Freedom" Competition

The Cummings Award for Best Feature Film granting 4,000$

Three Windows and a Hanging, directed by Isa Qosja.

The Ostrovsky Award for Best Documentary Film grating 2,000$

The Pearl Button, directed by Patricio Guzman

Honorary Mention

Mussa, directed by Anat Goren, produced by Daniela Rachminov-Sidi, Anat Goren.

The In the Spirit of Freedom jury was comprised of Israeli director and screenwriter Tali Shalom-Ezer, French actress Laëtitia Eïdo and French journalist Hélène Schoumann.

The FIPRESCI Award for Best First Film

Songs my Brothers Taught Me, directed by Chloe Zhao.

Honorary Mention to an Israeli Debut

Wedding Doll, directed and produced by Nitzan Gilady.

The FIPRESCI jury was comprised of José Luis Losa García of Spain, Jack Mener of Belgium and Yair Raveh of Israel.

The Israeli Short Film Competition

The Van Leer award for Best Short Feature Film granting 9,000 ILS

Line of Grace, directed by Rotem Kapelinsky, produced by Eyal Shirai.

The Van Leer Award for Best Director of a Short Feature granting 9,000 ILS

Yehonatan Indursky for his film The Cantor and the Sea.

The Van Leer award for Best Short Documentary Film granting 7,000 ILS

Mazal Means Luck, directed by Mazal Ben Yishai, Maaleh Film School.

The Van Leer Award for Best Short Animation Film granting 7,000 ILS

Warm Snow, directed by Ira Elshansky, Bezalel Academy of Arts & Design.

The jury of the Short Film Competition was comprised of Mexican director and producer Gabriel Ripstein, Israeli director and screenwriter Elad Keidan and Israeli director, screenwriter and poet Netalie Braun.

The Experimental Cinema and Video Art Competition

The Lia Van Leer Award, donated by Rivka Saker, granting 12,000 ILS

Factory, directed by Maya Geller.

The Ostrovsky Family Foundation Award granting 8,000 ILS

Last Person Shooter, directed by Boaz Levin and Adam Kaplan.

The jury was comprised of Austrian artist and filmmaker Manu Luksch, Israeli curator Ran Kasmy-Ilan and Israeli curator Edna Moshenson.

The Jewish Experience Competition

The Leah Van Leer Award for Films about Jewish Heritage

Zelda: A Simple Woman, directed by Yair Qedar

The Avner Shalev – Yad Vashem Chairman’s Award for Holocaust-Related Films

My Nazi Legacy: What Our Fathers Did, directed by David Evans.

The International Children's Films Competition

The Cummings Award for Best Children's Film granting 3,000$

Paper Planes, director by Robert Connolly

From the international lineup:

איימי AMY

אני מחייכת בחזרה I SMILE BACK

יומן של מתבגרת DIARY OF A TEENAGE GIRL

סבתא GRANDMA

בית משפט COURT

כפתור הפנינה PEARL BOTTON

תופסות חלום DREAMCATCHER

בית קברות מפואר CEMETERY OF SPLENDOUR

גלריה לאומית NATIONAL GALLERY

הטירלוגיה של רוי אנדרסון ROY ANDERSSON TRILOGY

הלוסבטר THE LOBSTER

ויקטוריה VICTORIA

רחוב 42 42ND STREET

אייריס IRIS

הדיפלומט THE DIPOLMAT 

הסנדק בליווי מוסיקה חיה THE GODFATHER WITH LIVE MUSIC