The Circuit

by Alissa Simon
The 25th edition of the Jerusalem Film Festival (JFF), Israel’s largest and oldest cinema celebration, will wrapped Saturday night, following a ten-day marathon comprising some 200 features and shorts unspooling on seven screens, and a slew of special events.

Sure, a quarter century seems insignificant when compared to Jerusalem’s Old City, whose ancient edifices offer spectacular views for the crowds socializing on the terraces of fest HQ, the newly enlarged Jerusalem Cinematheque, but this anniversary marks a watershed in the event’s history.

At the beginning of 2008, the legendary Lia van Leer, now 84, founder of both the JFF and the Cinematheque passed the torch to a new Director General, 56-y.o. Jerusalem-born Ilan de Vries.

It’s hoped that de Vries, formerly a producer, will find his background useful in negotiating better relations with the domestic industry. In recent times, many Israeli producers have preferred to skip JFF, in spite of the generous competition prizes. That tendency was particularly noticeable this year, with only four features facing off for the $41,000.00-plus Wolgin award.

At the July 18 award ceremony, beloved actress Gila Almagor, the Wolgin jury president, made a passionate plea to her colleagues to support the fest in the future by entering their films. However, speaking off the record, several producers cited drawbacks associated with a JFF bow. Chief among them, the fact that local journos seem to delight in savaging local talent. With Israeli premieres slotted for 8 pm or thereabouts, critics have only a short time before their deadline, giving them little chance to reflect. Or as one producer bluntly put it, “they’re writing while they’re peeing.”

Much-praised docu “Waltz with Bashir” directed by Ari Folman (a recent Cannes competitor), was one of those titles choosing to bypass JFF, instead opening in Israeli hardtops shortly before the fest began. That move left the path clear for helmer David Ofek’s “The Tale of Nicolai & The Law of Return,” (pictured) an ironic and critical look at the situation of migrant workers, to claim the docu prize.

On the other hand, local production outfit July August Prods ("The Band's Visit"), nabbed best feature for the second year in a row with Cannes Critics Week entry “Seven Days” (pictured), directed by Ronit and Shlomi Elkabetz.  The intense drama about a large Moroccan-Jewish family sitting shiva against the backdrop of the first Gulf War. Pic also claimed best actress gong for Hana Azoulay Hasfari.

Other Israeli talent acquiring kudos included popular thesps Moshe Ivgy and Alon Aboutboul who shared best actor prize for knock-about comedy “Out of the Blue” directed by Igal Burstyn, and producer-helmer-screenwriter Tal Haim Yoffe, whose touching docu “The Green Dumpster Mystery” offered a unique cinematic angle on the Holocaust.

The casual afternoon awards ceremony also provided a platform for airing political views. In his opening remarks, fest director de Vries denounced the Film Council’s decision to cut the Israel Film Archive’s film preservation budget by one third. A short time later, while awarding Steve McQueen’s I.R.A tale “Hunger” the Spirit of Freedom gong, juror Ron Pundak, director of the Peres Center for Peace and Chairperson of the Palestinian-Israeli Peace NGO Forum, eloquently reminded auds of pic’s relevance to the current Israeli reality.