Love at first frame

Israel’s unique cultural, political, religious, and historical landscape provides an exceptionally fertile resource for the country’s film industry – an industry that is gaining increasing international respect for the quality of its productions.

Although Israel is a young country, its involvement in cinema dates back to the earliest days of the film industry. One of the first motion pictures ever shown to a European audience was the French Lumière brothers Train Station in Jerusalem (1896), depicting exotic panoramas of Ottoman Palestine. The first feature-length film in Hebrew was Oded the Wanderer (1933).

Across the decades

Growth of the Israeli film industry reflects the country’s rapid evolution from barren desert to high technology success. Before and during the first years of statehood (1930s to 1950s), films emphasizing the Zionist ideals of restoring a Jewish connection to the land, and personal, often heroic sacrifice for national survival, were the sole themes of Israeli films.

And then writer and satirist Ephraim Kishon changed the face of Israeli cinema. His 1964 comedy, Sallah Shabbati, nominated for an Academy Award in the Best Foreign Language Film category, told the story of an immigrant who manipulates the system to his own advantage. Sallah Shabbati heralded an era dominated by the Kayitz (Hebrew acronym for Young Israeli Cinema) Group. During this period, and especially after the Six Day War of 1967, Israelis began taking a new, more personal look at society.

During the 1970s the so-called “bourekas films” became popular. Named for the popular savory pastry, these were homespun comedies and melodramas that enabled local moviegoers to escape the hardships of daily life.

With the creation of the Fund for the Encouragement of Quality Israeli Cinema in 1978, a new wave of Kayitz filmmakers emerged. Their films dealt with the era’s explosive political and cultural issues and they continue to influence the direction of Israeli film today.

Two decades later, encouragement of a different sort appeared. Israel for the first time licensed commercial television, providing new opportunities for young cinematic artists as broadcasters, whose licenses mandated local production, vied for audiences against a new backdrop of satellite broadcasts from around the world.

It’s a wrap

Enthusiastic support

The Israeli film industry enjoys enthusiastic support from many sources. Although government funding has been restricted, 41 new feature films have been approved for production under the country’s New Cinema Law of 2000. The public is also showing strong support; in 2006, nearly 15 percent of Israeli box office receipts came from locally-produced films, no mean feat in a small country deluged with foreign cultural offerings.

Foreign and local investments in Israeli films are on the rise. In 2006 foreign investment in Israeli feature films totaled $5 million, while Israeli businesses and private individuals invested $2.5 million. Co-productions with Germany, Italy, France, Canada and, for the first time, with Australia, continued and intensified. In 2007, exports from the Israeli film and television industry totaled $50 million.

The next generation

Israel has always placed great emphasis on its younger generation by encouraging education. The film industry is no exception with some ten institutions teaching filmmaking skills. The three most important are the Sam Spiegel Film and Television School in Jerusalem (founded in 1990 and recognized 14 times as the world’s best film school by peer group competition), the Minshar for Art teaching center in Tel Aviv, and the Department of Film and Television at Tel Aviv University, founded in 1971.

Key segments

Feature Films

Not only are Israeli audiences enjoying quality films in their native language, moviegoers around the globe are benefiting from growing exposure and interest in Israeli cinema. In recent years, several Israeli feature films were selected to compete in leading international film festivals such as Cannes, Berlin, London, Moscow, Toronto and Venice. Many of these films were released commercially.

Three Israeli features were screened at the 2007 Cannes Film Festival. Raphael Nadjary`s Tehilim in the official selection, Eran Kolirin’s debut film The Band’s Visit in the Un Certain Regard section, and duo Etgar Keret and Shira Geffen’s debut film Jellyfish in the International Critics’ Week section.

The films received six prizes including the SACD (French Society of Dramatic Authors and Composers) award for Jellyfish and a special honorary mention from the International Federation of Film Critics to The Band’s Visit.

Also in 2007, Joseph Cedar’s Beaufort, which received the Silver Bear Award at the Berlin Film Festival, was nominated for an Oscar for the best Foreign Language Film category by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences in Los Angeles. Six others preceded it: Beyond the Walls (1984), Sallah Shabati (1965), The Policeman (1971), I Love You Rosa (1972), The House on Chelouche Street (1973) and Operation Thunderbolt (1977).

Documentaries

Since 1993, Israel has produced more than 120 documentaries. Many have been screened at international festivals, earned global acclaim and won important prizes. These films have facilitated widespread recognition of Israel’s documentary filmmakers and filmmaking industry throughout the world.

Did You Know?

The New Foundation for Cinema and Television, founded in 1993 to promote documentary, experimental, feature, and short films in Israel, has supported the production of some 250 original works, the great majority of them documentaries. It has been awarded a full partnership in the European Union’s Medea Project for the support of international feature and documentary co-productions. In the past three years, 15 Israeli filmmakers received grants and participated in international seminars.

The Israel Film Fund is committed to further develop the conditions for a sustainable, creative and vibrant Israeli film industry. The Fund puts special emphasis in strengthening 
ties between Israeli cinema, local audiences and international audiences, encourages co-productions, and has been instrumental in strengthening the working ties between Israeli filmmakers and foreign filmmakers.

For a country of seven million inhabitants, Israel hosts a disproportionately large number of film festivals. There are seven international events held in the country annually. The most prestigious is the Jerusalem Film Festival, which screens nearly 150 films from outstanding documentaries to avant-garde and animations.