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Thursday, January 22, 2026
Two Israeli films about Gaza war and hostage crisis nominated for Oscars
Add ToI as a Preferred Source on GoogleJessica Steinberg, The Times of Israel's culture and lifestyles editor, covers the Sabra scene from south to north and back to the center
Two Israeli films are included in the final list of nominees for Oscars, as the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences releases the final list of nominees.
“Butcher’s Stain” by Meyer Levinson-Blount of Tel Aviv University, which won second place in the narrative category of the Student Academy Awards in the fall, is nominated for Best Live Action Short Film.
The film follows Samir, an Arab butcher in Tel Aviv, who sets out on a journey to prove his innocence after he’s accused of removing posters of the hostages kidnapped to Gaza.
The Israeli film “Children No More: Were and Are Gone,” directed by Hila Medalia, is nominated for Best Documentary Short Film.
Medalia’s film is about a vigil that began in March 2025 in Tel Aviv, as a handful of left-wing protesters held photos of children killed in Gaza.
“Holding Liat,” about the struggle to bring back hostage Liat Atzili, which was shortlisted for Best Documentary Feature, does not make it into the final five nominees.
The Ophir Award-winning film “The Sea” doesn’t advance to the shortlist in the Best International Feature Film category.
The nominees for Best Picture are “Bugonia,” “F1,” “Frankenstein,” “Hamnet,” “Marty Supreme,” “One Battle After Another,” “The Secret Agent,” “Sentimental Value,” “Sinners” and “Train Dreams.”
Filmmakers Chloe Zhao (“Hamnet”), Josh Safdie (“Marty Supreme”), “Paul Thomas Anderson (“One Battle After Another”), Joaquim Trier (“Sentimental Value”) and Ryan Coogler (“Sinners”) are nominated for Best Director.
Vampire period horror film “Sinners” smashes the all-time Oscars record with 16 nominations. The blues-inflected drama set in the 1930s segregated US South from director Ryan Coogler scores nominations in nearly every category possible, blasting past the previous record of 14, jointly held by “All About Eve,” “Titanic” and “La La Land.”
“Frankenstein,” “Marty Supreme” and “Sentimental Value” each bag nine nominations, while “Hamnet” secures eight.
AFP contributed to this report.
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