US EditionIsrael’s culture minister vows to defund ‘Israeli Oscars’ after film about Palestinian boy wins big
- At the 2025 Ophir Awards in Tel Aviv, the Arabic-language drama 'The Sea' about a Palestinian boy won Best Film and became Israel's Oscar entry.
- The selection occurred amid international calls to boycott Israeli film institutions, prompting Culture Minister Miki Zohar to declare he will cut state funding starting next year.
- 'The Sea' follows 12-year-old Khaled in the West Bank and depicts Israeli soldiers negatively, which Zohar condemned as disgraceful and shameful toward IDF soldiers.
- Thirteen-Year-Old Muhammad Gazawi won Best Actor and called for children to live without wars, while Uri Barbash condemned the government and Hollywood boycott in his lifetime achievement speech.
- Zohar's funding cut threatens the Ophir Awards' future, highlighting political tensions affecting Israeli cinema amid ongoing conflict and film community boycotts.
22 Articles
22 Articles
Israeli-Palestinian co-production ‘The Sea’, consecrated in a ceremony calling for an end to the invasion of Gaza, will represent the country in the awards of the Hollywood Academy
The film "The Sea", shot in Arabic and Hebrew, is the great winner of the ceremony, equivalent to the caesars in Israel. The government announced the abolition of aid to the Ophir Academy.
Israel’s culture minister vows to defund ‘Israeli Oscars’ after film about Palestinian boy wins big
Israel’s minister of culture has vowed to cut funding for the country’s film academy and its annual awards show after a movie about a Palestinian boy’s dream of seeing the ocean won big.
The Ministry of Culture of Israel has stopped funding the country's most prestigious film prize, after it has been awarded a film about a Palestinian boy in Cisidornia, delivering DPA Wednesdays.
The Ministry of Culture of Israel has stopped financing the country's most prestigious film prize, after it has been awarded a film about a Palestinian boy from Cissiania, delivering DPA Wednesdays, taken by Agerpres....
Israeli Culture Minister Defunds National Film Awards After Palestinian Drama Takes Top Prize
Shai Carmeli-Pollak's anti-war drama 'The Sea,' about a Palestinian boy struggling under life in the West Bank, took best film at Israel's Ophir Awards on Tuesday night.
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