Hagar - Land Wins Top Prize at Haifa Film Festival
Translated & summarized from Kan News by baba
The story in 5 lines · by baba
- Hagar - Land won the grand prize at the Haifa International Film Festival.
- The jury praised Hagar - Land for its cinematic cohesion and focus on Ethiopian Jews.
- Awards were given for acting, directing, screenwriting, documentary, and debut films.
- International films also competed, with "Lost Queen" and "An Unknown Girl" winning top prizes.
- The festival, in its 42nd year, is supported by several Israeli ministries.
The film "Hagar - Land," directed by Shmuel Bero, was awarded the grand prize at the 42nd Haifa International Film Festival. The jury for the Israeli competition, which included Anat Atzmon, Sarig Pekar, Hila Madlia, Yael Shuv, and George Obshvili, cited the film's cinematic cohesion and its focus on the fate of Ethiopian Jews.
"Hagar - Land" also received an award for artistic achievement for its cinematography. The jury prize for a narrative feature was split between two films: "Double Panther" by Marco Carmel and Yoav Shutan-Gushin, and "Blue Signs" by Dina Tsabari Riklis. Yaakov Zada Daniel was named best actor for his role in "Double Panther," while Noa Ohayon won best actress for her performance in "Blue Signs." Dina Tsabari Riklis also earned the screenwriting award for "Blue Signs," which is based on a book by Emily Moatti.
Reut Akerman received the Amitt Peled award for best debut film for "Going Home!" The best documentary award went to Tomer Heyman for "I Want to Tell My Story." This documentary also won the research award for Tali Shamir-Werzberger and Linden Pins and will soon be broadcast on Kan 11. A special mention for films addressing social issues, named in honor of Pnina Blair, was given posthumously to Nitzan Giladi for his film "And You Shall Love." Giladi, who passed away in July after completing the film, also won the award for best short independent film for "Nehama."
In the international "Carmel" competition, "Lost Queen," directed by Lance Hammer, took the top prize. Ryusuke Hamaguchi's film "Wheel of Fortune and Fantasy" received a special mention. The "Golden Anchor" international film competition was won by the Chinese film "An Unknown Girl" by Zuo Jing, with the Austrian-German film "Great Freedom" by Sandra Wollner earning a special mention.
The Haifa International Film Festival is managed artistically by Yaron Shamir and produced by the city's Etos Corporation, with support from the Ministry of Culture and Sports, the Ministry of Tourism, and the Ministry for Regional Cooperation. Avi Nesher opened the festival and received a lifetime achievement award.
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