Best Actor: Mahmoud Abu Jazi
צילום: כפיר חרבי
Israeli films take prizes in Valencia, Mumbai
'Seven Days', 'Whispering Embers' take five top prizes at Mediterranean Film Festival, while 'For My Father' ties for first at Asian film festival
It was another good week for Israeli cinema. "Seven Days", a film by sibling writers and directors Ronit and Shlomi Elkabetz, received numerous accolades at the Mediterranean Film Festival in Valencia, Spain, on Tuesday.
"Whispering Embers", a joint Palestinian-Israeli venture directed by Palestinian director Ali Nassar, took two prizes at this festival. Meanwhile, Dror Zahavi's film 'For My Father' took home a prize in Mumbai.
The Elkabetz siblings in Valencia (Photo: Merav Yudilovitch)
"Seven Days" was awarded three coveted "Golden Palms" in Valencia – a distinction that is accompanied by 40,000 Euros each. The Elkabetz duo received awards for best movie and best direction.
The film, which included actresses Yael Abecassis, Hana Laszlo, Keren Mor and the female director herself, was additionally awarded a prize for Best Female Actor.
The judges' choice of "Seven Days" for all three awards was unanimous.
Depicting Arab life
Mahmoud Abu Jazi, the lead in "Whispering Embers" won an award for Best Male Actor, for his portrayal of a young, revolutionary member of a communist party in an Arab village, torn between the appeal of modern life and the traditional values of his background.The film's score, by Jordanian composer Walid al-Hashem, gave "Whispering Embers" its second win.
East of the Mediterranean, the film "For My Father", directed by Dror Zahavi, won a prize for best film at the Third Eye Festival of Asian Cinema, in Mumbai, India. The movie tied for this prize with the Iranian film 'Unfinished Stories', by writer-director Pourya Azarbayjani.
"For My Father" tells the story of a young Palestinian who comes to commit a suicide bombing in the Carmel Market in Tel Aviv, but discovers that the bomb's fuse is defective. Unable to find an alternate fuse, he wanders around Tel Aviv for the weekend and befriends a formerly Orthodox Jewish girl who is shunned by her family.
One of the judges at the Third Eye Festival was Israeli Dan Wolman, who directed, among other films, the 2006 movie 'Tied Hands.'
