Two films about the war between Israel and Gaza will compete for the Best European Film award at the upcoming European Film Awards (often dubbed the “European Oscars”), scheduled to be held in Berlin this January.
The first film is "The Voice of Hind Rajab," directed by Tunisian‑born French filmmaker Kaouther Ben Hania. It is a feature film about the five-year-old Gazan girl who was killed in January 2024 by IDF fire, and became a symbol. The film stars the Haifa-born Palestinian actress Clara Khoury, daughter of Israel Prize-winning actor Makram Khoury.
The plot follows the true story of Hind Rajab, who left her home in the Tel al-Hawa neighborhood in southwest Gaza City on January 29, 2024 with several of her family members. While her parents and other relatives fled on foot, Hind rode with her uncle and cousins, who were all killed. Red Crescent volunteers in Ramallah were on the phone with Hind for three‑and‑a‑half hours before the connection broke.
For 12 days, her fate was unknown, her name and image spreading worldwide. Finally, on February 10, after the IDF left the area, the car was found riddled with bullets, the ambulance burnt, and the bodies of her family including Hind inside.
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The cast of the film 'The Voice of Hind Rajab' at the Venice Film Festival
(Photo: AFP)
“The Voice of Hind Rajab” won the Grand Jury Prize at the recent Venice Festival and earned over 20 minutes of applause at its premiere, with Palestinian flags waving in the audience. The film is considered one of the strongest candidates in the Oscar race for Best International Feature Film, especially since a battery of stars (Brad Pitt and the couple Joaquin Phoenix and Rooney Mara) and Hollywood directors (Alfonso Cuaron and Jonathan Glazer) have contributed their names to the film, as executive producers. Therefore, it probably has a good chance of winning at the European Film Award ceremony in the German capital as well.
The second is the documentary "With Hasan in Gaza," by Palestinian filmmaker Kamal Aljafari. Drawing on footage he shot in Gaza in 2000, Aljafari says the film is “a tribute to Gaza and its people, to everything that was erased and returned to me in this urgent moment of Palestinian existence or non‑existence. It is a film about the disaster, and about the poetry that resists it.” The film also is in the running for Best European Documentary.
Among other prominent entries in this year’s Best European Film list of 15 nominees is "Sentimental Value," a moving comedy‑drama by Norwegian director Joachim Trier. The film—winner of the Grand Jury Prize at Cannes—follows a former filmmaker plotting a comeback and is nominated in five major categories: Best Film, Director, Screenplay, Actor (Stellan Skarsgård) and Actress (Renate Reinsve).
Also notable is the French production "It Was Just An Accident," directed by Iranian filmmaker Jafar Panahi, is set in Iran and following five characters who seek revenge on the prosecutor who tortured them years earlier. Panahi, who has been arrested several times and banned from leaving Iran, brought this film to Cannes and won the Palme d’Or; France selected the film as its Oscar entry.
Unfortunately, the acclaimed and controversial Israeli film "Yes" by director Nadav Lapid—which made the list of 40 films from which the Academy selects European Award nominees—did not manage to break into any final nomination categories.
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From the controversial Israeli film 'Yes' by director Nadav Lapid
(Photo: Shai Goldman)
We can take solace in the fact that among the 15 contenders for the Outstanding Picture award is "Arco," an animated film produced by Natalie Portman, who also contributed her voice to the English-dubbed version. It is an optimistic film about unwatchable friendships, with a relevant and important ecological message
In the category for Best European Actor, an up‑and‑coming Israeli‑origin actor, Idan Weiss, is nominated for portraying the Jewish writer Franz Kafka in the Polish director Agnieszka Holland’s film "Franz." He’ll compete against four seasoned and decorated actors: Stellan Skarsgård, Mads Mikkelsen, Toni Servillo and Sergi López.
Israeli films and creators have won European Film Academy awards in the past: in 2007, Eran Kolirin’s "The Band’s Visit" picked up the Discovery prize and actor Sasson Gabai was declared Best Actor. In 2010, Shmuelik Me’uz’s "Lebanon" earned the Discovery‑of‑the‑Year and Best Cinematography awards. In 2013, Ari Folman’s "The Congress" won Best Animated Feature.