Silver Bear Award
Photo: Berlinale
Berlin film festival plans tribute to Israeli cinema
Festival, often accused of spotlighting anti-Israeli films, will hold tribute to Israeli cinema in honor of country's 60th birthday
BERLIN – The Berlin International Film Festival, which opens in the German capital in February, will hold a tribute to Israeli cinema in honor of Israel's 60th birthday.
The festival's director Dieter Kosslick, who recently visited Israel, announced that Israeli documentaries and films will be screened as part of the festival, which will be held for the 58th time this year.
"Cinema in Israel is striving, and we want to feature many films about Israel," he stated. "These will be Israeli movies and movies about Israel that confront the state's history."
Israeli officials have in the past criticized the festival for spotlighting films critical of Israel, while ignoring contemporary Israeli cinema, which has already won acclaim in other festivals worldwide.
However, Israeli director Joseph cedar's film Beaufort won the Silver Bear Award in the festival last year.
The festival's organizers said that the list of movies to be screened in the event has not been finalized yet. Some 5,000 films have been submitted to the contest so far, but only 360 will make it to the festival.
