Government cuts off funding for Ophir awards

Government cuts off funding for Ophir awards after film about Palestinian boy wins

(source: The Times of Israel, Jessica Steinberg )

Culture minister pans film, set to represent Israel at the Oscars, as a ‘slap in the face of Israeli citizens’; academy says selection a ‘powerful response’ to boycott attempts.

Following the Best Feature win at Tuesday night’s Ophir Awards ceremony for “The Sea,” about a 12-year-old Palestinian boy, Culture and Sports Minister Miki Zohar said Wednesday that he will halt the ministry’s funding for the Ophir Awards and the 2026 ceremony.

The film by Shai Carmeli-Pollak is about Khaled (Mohammed Gazaoui), a Palestinian boy on his way to visit the sea in Tel Aviv for the first time in his life as part of a class trip. At an IDF checkpoint, the soldiers deny him entry. Khaled then sneaks into Israel and embarks on a journey to the sea, while his father (Khalifa Natour) tries to trace his whereabouts, putting himself at risk of being arrested and losing his job.

The film won the Ophir for Best Feature, while Carmeli-Pollak received the Ophir for Best Screenplay. Gazaoui won Best Actor, the youngest winner in the history of the awards; Natour received the Best Supporting Actor award; and Avi Bellili won the Ophir for original music.

As the Ophir winner for Best Picture, the film will go on to represent Israel in the nomination process for the Academy Awards’ International Feature Film Category, the industry’s practice since 1991.

Zohar said in a statement on Wednesday that the film presents the Palestinian perspective, casting IDF soldiers and the State of Israel in a negative light.

“There is no greater slap in the face of Israeli citizens than the embarrassing and detached annual Ophir Awards ceremony,” he said. “The fact that the winning film depicts our heroic soldiers in a defamatory and false light while they are fighting and risking their lives to protect us is sadly no longer surprising.”
Responding to Zohar’s statement, the Israeli Academy of Film and Television responded that “The Sea” is sensitive toward humanity in general, and toward its protagonist in particular, a Palestinian boy whose only wish is to reach the sea.

Zohar is viewed by many as being overly censorious of Israel’s film industry, regularly attempting to cut funding or support for any films that appear critical of the government and its policies.

He wasn’t invited to last year’s Ophir Awards ceremony. He was invited this year, however, as part of the academy’s commitment to the freedom of expression, according to an academy spokesperson.

full article: https://www.timesofisrael.com/government-cuts-off-funding-for-ophir-awards-after-film-about-palestinian-boy-wins/