After announcing he would stop funding the Film and Television Academy following the film "The Sea" winning Best Picture at the Ophir Awards ceremony, Culture Minister Miki Zohar announced the launch of the "Israeli State Oscar Ceremony." According to the announcement, the new ceremony is intended to provide a proper platform for quality Israeli creative works that represent the spirit of Israeli society and its values, thereby strengthening local Israeli cinema and encouraging excellence in the industry: "The ceremony will serve as a state and official alternative to the Ophir Awards ceremony of the Israeli Film and Television Academy, which in recent years does not represent the Israeli public and most Israeli citizens, but rather provides a platform for extreme and delusional voices on the fringes of Israeli society that harm the fabric of Israeli society."