Last night in Cannes, the film "Meduzot" ("Jellyfish") by Shira Geffen and Etgar Keret won the award for best debut feature. Earlier this week, the film won the "Young Critics" award and the French Artist and Writers Guild SACD's award for best directors.
"Meduzot," the young authors' first film, is based on a script written by Geffen and directed by her and her husband, author Etgar Keret, and tells the story of three women in Tel Aviv.
A scene from the film "Meduzot"
"The film and our firstborn son were born at the same time," said Gefen, "the new baby was easier to deal with than the movie that cost us many sleepless nights. Today we are very proud of both."
The movie's producer, Amir Harel, told Ynet he was thrilled by the news. "The award is an extremely important accomplishment. The financial award (of about $200,000) will help us with the distribution and is an incentive to create another film. There's no doubt this has been a very good year for Israeli cinema."
"This is the first time we make a movie, the first time we screen it in Cannes and the first time my wife lets me kiss such beautiful girls," Keret said in his acceptance speech, referring to the female judges.
The Camera d'Or Prize is considered the most prestigious for debut directors. Thirty-three other films were nominated in that category.