Ophir Awards will change tone, following deaths of six hostages
The annual film event, seen as Israel’s Oscars, cancels celebratory dinner for nominees but will still hold award ceremony
Jessica Steinberg, The Times of Israel's culture and lifestyles editor, covers the Sabra scene from south to north and back to the center
Following the burials of the six hostages murdered in Gaza, the Israeli Academy of Film and Television announced it will hold a modified Ophir Awards ceremony for movies later this month, while canceling the celebratory gatherings planned for the nominees this week.
The Academy made a similar decision in May, presenting its annual television awards at a more modest event, due to the ongoing war and hostage situation.
This year’s Ophir Awards include films with an emphasis on the ongoing war and the Hamas attack of October 7, particularly among the short documentary films.
The annual ceremony will take place on September 16 in the Tel Aviv Expo auditorium with a live stream on the entertainment show “Good Evening with Guy Pines.”
Four of the nominated feature films created by emerging filmmakers, “The Milky Way,” “Eid,” “Come Closer” and “Highway 65,” will be screened at the Tel Aviv Cinematheque September 8-15, followed by a discussion with the filmmaker.
For times and tickets, go to the Tel Aviv Cinematheque website.
