Scene from Julia Maya
Julia Maya wins first prize at Haifa film festival
Movie tells the story of a director who falls in love with a saleswoman who strikingly resembles Julia Roberts
Yuval Granot's movie Julia Maya won the first prize at the 23rd Haifa International Film Festival Thursday. The NIS 100,000 prize was sponsored by the Haifa Art Fund and the Israel Film Council.
Julia Maya tells the story of Johnny, a director of B-movies from a southern Tel Aviv neighborhood, who meets Maya, a witty and charismatic saleswoman with a striking resemblance to Julia Roberts. Johnny falls in love with Maya and decides to cast her to an Israeli version of Pretty Woman.
The NIS 50,000 first prize for a television drama was awarded to the series Arab Labor, directed by Ronny Ninio. The show is a humorous depiction of the life of an Israeli Arab family.
"Arab Labor is an original, sharp and intelligent show, which succeeds in describing a crazy reality with humor," the judges noted.
The film To See If I'm Smiling, which tells the story of women who served as soldiers in the Palestinian territories, won the prize for best documentary film and NIS 50,000.
