Following the 35th Ophir Award ceremony on Tuesday night, in which the Israeli Academy of Film and Television gave its top prize to The Sea, a movie about a Palestinian father and son, Culture Minister Miki Zohar fired back, releasing a statement Wednesday morning threatening to defund the awards ceremony next year.
“There is no greater slap in the face of Israeli citizens than the embarrassing and detached annual Ophir Awards ceremony. Starting with the 2026 budget, this pathetic ceremony will no longer be funded by taxpayers’ money. Under my watch, Israeli citizens will not pay from their pockets for a ceremony that spits in the faces of our heroic soldiers,” the statement said.
Many winners and presenters at the ceremony criticized Zohar for previous statements he made calling the Israeli movie industry irrelevant and detached from the public and saying it supports Palestinians rather than Israelis.
The Sea, directed by Shai Carmeli-Pollak and produced by Baher Agbariya, will now be Israel’s official selection to be considered for a Best International Feature Oscar nomination.
Thirteen-year-old Gazawi said in his acceptance speech that he hoped that in the future, children would be able to "live and dream without wars.”
Natour did not attend the ceremony. Instead, he sent a statement that was read on stage, which said, “Following the army’s entry into Gaza and the genocide that frightens me greatly, I cannot find words to describe the magnitude of the horror, and everything else becomes secondary to me. Even cinema and theater.” His remarks elicited applause.
Winning the Best Screenplay award, Carmeli-Pollak read a letter from a friend in Gaza about how he lost family members during the war and was having a hard time buying food.
During a week in which thousands of Hollywood film industry professionals called for a boycott of the Israeli film industry, some might see the win for The Sea as an illustration of the diversity of the Israeli film industry and its dedication to letting all voices be heard.
But the culture minister saw its win as purely negative. The Association for Civil Rights in Israel is reportedly investigating whether the Culture Ministry has the jurisdiction to pull funding from the awards.
Other nominated movies that have caused governmental displeasure are Yes by Nadav Lapid, a scathing satire of Israeli life during wartime, which won Best Soundtrack and Best Editing, and Netalie Braun’s Oxygen, about a mother going to great lengths to stop her son from going into combat.
The minister’s tirade against The Sea was a fitting coda to a somber and stormy evening, which started with sirens warning of a bombing from Yemen that rang out across Israel less than an hour before the Ophir ceremony began.
It was the second Ophir Award ceremony held in the shadow of the war in Gaza and the continuing hostage crisis. Many presenters, nominees, and winners wore yellow ribbon pins and dog tags to reference the hostages, and there were already some nominated films about the war. The human toll of the ongoing conflict and the hostage crisis were mentioned in virtually every acceptance speech.
The Israeli film industry refuses to back down
Some at the ceremony mentioned the boycott of Israeli films called for by thousands in Hollywood, saying that they knew it was unlikely that many would see their films abroad, but that this wouldn’t deter them from creating. Others referenced Zohar’s earlier criticism of the industry.
In past years, the culture minister was an integral part of the Ophir ceremony, often presenting an award. However, this ended when another former culture minister from the Likud Party, Miri Regev, spoke dismissively and divisively about the entertainment industry she oversaw.
Eti Tsicko, who won the Best Director Award for Nandauri, about a Georgian-born Israeli lawyer returning to her mountain-village home, addressed both issues when she said that “No government and no boycott will stop us from telling our stories.”
Neta Riskin, one of the stars of Shtisel, won the Best Actress Award for Nandauri.
Ori Avinoam won Best Supporting Actress for her performance in Cuz You’re Ugly, directed by Sharon Angelhart, as the pregnant younger sister of a soldier from a troubled family.
The award for Best Full-Length Documentary went to Letter to David by Tom Shoval, which is about the hostage David Cunio, who worked with Shoval on one of his first films.
The film was produced by Nancy Spielberg. Shoval read a message from Cunio’s wife, Sharon Aloni-Cunio, who was kidnapped with David along with their daughters and was released, and who pleaded for the public to continue fighting for her husband’s release.
Ariel Cunio, one of David’s brothers, was also kidnapped into Gaza.
Shoval noted that he sees Letter to David as unfinished, and that it will only be complete when David and Ariel, as well as all the hostages, are released. A statement from Ariel and David’s parents was also read.
Gan de Lange, whose movie A Bird’s Wish won the award for Best Animated film, used her time in the spotlight to read aloud the names of all the 48 hostages still held in Gaza.
Uri Barbash, the veteran director of the Oscar-nominated drama Beyond the Walls, which depicts Jewish and Arab prisoners who unite to strike against a corrupt warden, won the lifetime achievement award.
Criticizing Zohar, he spoke about how, just as in Beyond the Walls, the establishment tries to play different factions off against each other to gain power and weaken the people.
“We have chosen, we will strike and protest, and we will create, all of us together, Jews and Arabs, religious and secular… It is our sacred duty to bring all the hostages back to their families. Immediately," he said, "To end this accursed war and replace the ‘divide and conquer’ regime that has declared war on Israeli society!”
Barbash received a standing ovation.
Even the comic moments took a somber turn in light of the ongoing war. A prize of special recognition was given to the Mah Keshur comedy trio, comprised of Tzion Baruch, Shalom Michaelshwilli, and Avi Israelof.
The three starred in the most popular film of the year, Saving Shuli San, which was directed by Ben Bachar and which has sold 2.2 million tickets. In their acceptance speech, the trio dedicated their award to the hostage brothers, Gali and Ziv Berman, and to the rest of the hostages.
The shortlist for the Best International Feature Oscar will be released in December. Israel has been nominated in this category 10 times without a win.