Ophir Awards

Sam Spiegel International Film Lab to hold pitching event at Venice Film Festival

This is the first time since its establishment 13 years ago that Sam Spiegel's International Film Lab will hold its annual pitching event as part of the Venice Film Festival.

|ByHANNAH BROWN
Participants in the Sam Spiegel Film Lab, whose films will be at the pitching event at the Venice Film Festival.
MOHAMAD GHAZAWI in ‘The Sea.’

‘The Sea’ leads Ophir Award nominations

The nominees for Israel's Ophir Awards have been announced.

|ByHANNAH BROWN
TOM NESHER: For my generation, 18-30, everyone knows someone who died this year. Everyone.

Israeli filmmaker Tom Nesher channels her grief into her new movie ‘Come Closer’

The movie tells the story of Eden (Lia Elalouf), a reckless, troubled young Tel Aviv woman still very attached to her younger brother, Nati (Ido Tako), and her struggle to cope after his death.

|ByHANNAH BROWN
Tom Nesher, who won Best Director and whose film, Come Closer, won Best Picture

Tom Nesher's Come Closer wins the Ophir Award in a ceremony overshadowed by the war

At the Ophir Awards in Tel Aviv, the usually festive event was overshadowed by the war, with winners and presenters honoring the hostages and fallen soldiers while celebrating cinematic achievements.

|ByHANNAH BROWN

Israel Cinema Day to premier an array of unreleased Israeli films

This Wednesday, Israel Cinema Day will involve over 40 recent Israeli films including unreleased Ophir Award nominees like 'Come Closer', 'Eid', and 'The Property' in theaters nationwide.

SEPTEMBER 16, 2024ByHANNAH BROWN
A SCENE from ‘Eid.’

Wartime films get Ophir Award nominations 

The Ophir Awards will be presented at a ceremony on September 16 in Tel Aviv.

AUGUST 15, 2024ByHANNAH BROWN
‘THE BOY,’ ‘Come Closer,’ and ‘Highway 65’ with Idan Amedi and Tali Sharon, are up for Ophir Awards.

Seven Blessings wins big at the Ophir Awards

Seven Blessings now becomes Israel’s official selection for consideration for a Best International Feature nomination at the Oscars.

SEPTEMBER 10, 2023ByHANNAH BROWN
Reymonde Amsallem is seen accepting the Best Actress Ophir Award for Seven Blessings. She also won an award for co-writing the screenplay.

Israel's Oscars: What movies will take home this year’s Ophirs?

Relatively few movies directed by women and few films about Mizrahi Jews have won the Ophir Award in recent years, and this will give Seven Blessings an edge.

SEPTEMBER 9, 2023ByHANNAH BROWN
‘SEVEN BLESSINGS’ – an Ophir winner?

‘Seven Blessings’ tells the story of twisted family tradition - review

Seven Blessings focuses on a Moroccan family in Israel and shows how tradition can be used in a particularly twisted and damaging way.

SEPTEMBER 9, 2023ByHANNAH BROWN
SCENE FROM ‘Seven Blessings.’

Zehu Ze! comedy group set to receive honorary doctorate from Bar-Ilan U

The members of Zehu Ze! began performing together on the government broadcasting channel in 1978 and continued until 1998, then returning during the pandemic.

MAY 1, 2023ByHANNAH BROWN
‘ZEHU ZE!’ actors Moni Moshonov, Dov Glickman, Shlomo Bar-Aba, Avi Kushnir and Gidi Gov appear earlier this year.

Cinema Sabaya wins 2022 Ophir Award, to represent Israel at Oscars

Cinema Sabaya will now become Israel’s official selection for consideration for a nomination for the Best International Feature Oscar. 

SEPTEMBER 18, 2022ByJERUSALEM POST STAFF
Oz Zehavi (center) hosts the 2022 Ophir Awards ceremony, September 18, 2022

Varied group of nominees for this year's Ophir Awards

The Ophirs will be awarded in a ceremony on September 18. 

AUGUST 10, 2022ByHANNAH BROWN
'Karaoke'

Eran Kolirin talks about the human story at the heart of ‘Let It Be Morning’

Let It Be Morning, which was produced by Dori Media in collaboration with Films du Poisson, is based on an acclaimed novel by Sayed Kashua.

APRIL 9, 2022ByHANNAH BROWN
ERAN KOLIRIN, the director of ‘Let It Be Morning.’

Israeli documentary chronicles real relationship between Auschwitz prisoner, SS officer

Both of those movies are fictional (or heavily fictionalized) interpretations of such a love affair, using made-up stories to pose questions about power dynamics and internalized guilt.

DECEMBER 4, 2021ByANDREW LAPIN/JTA
The permanent exhibition at the Auschwitz Jewish Center in Oswiecim, Poland features expensive chandeliers that local Jews might have hid under the floorboards.

I don’t blame Eran Kolirin for controversies around his movies - opinion

Kolirin doesn’t seem to me like an ally of anti-Zionism, but the actors from Let It Be Morning – his latest film – made a fuss at the Ophir awards ceremony.

NOVEMBER 6, 2021ByMARK L. LEVINSON
ERAN KOLIRIN holds his Golden Swan award after winning a special prize for ‘The Band’s Visit’ at the Copenhagen Film Festival in 2007.