Yiftah Klein in 'Hashoter'
Israeli film honored at Locarno festival
Director Nadav Lapid wins Swiss festival's special jury prize for 'Hashoter'
Director Nadav Lapid's film "Hashoter" ("The Policeman") won the special jury prize for the second best film at the 64th Locarno Film Festival on Saturday.
"Hashoter" competed in the Swiss festival against 19 films from all around the world – including France, the United States, Romania, Switzerland and Lebanon.
The festival's top honor, the Golden Leopard prize, was presented to "Back to Stay" - an Argentinean-Swiss production directed by Milagros Mumenthaler.
"Hashoter," starring Yiftach Klein, Menashe Noy and Michael Moshonov, is Lapid's first feature film. His short films have been screened in the past in the Berlin, Cannes and Locarno festivals.
The movie debuted at the Jerusalem Film Festival, where it even won the Van Leer prize for Best First or Second Film by an Israeli Director together with "Beautiful Valley" by Hadar Friedlich. But the filmmakers decided not to accept their part of the award, which was given to them after a repeated vote due to an apparent conflict of interest in the jury's decision
The film tells the story of Yaron (Klein), a fighter in a counter-terrorism unit. Yaron and his friends are the gun directed by the State at the "Arab enemy". A meeting with a radical, violent and unusual group makes him confront the Israeli society's class struggle, as well as the internal battle within his soul.
Another Israeli-affiliated film which competed in the festival is "Last Days in Jerusalem" – a joint Israeli-French-German production by Tawfik Abu Wael.
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