Israel Academy of Film’s 2006 Ophir Award Nominees
by Andre Soares
The nominees for the Israel Academy of Film and Television Awards, also known as the Ophir Awards, were announced in Tel Aviv this past Tuesday, Aug. 22. As per Hannah Brown in the Jerusalem Post, the most notable aspect of the Israel Academy’s choices was the near complete lack of political content in the nominated films.
Among the Best Film (and Best Director) nominees are Aviva, My Love, directed by Shemi Zarhin, the tale of a hotel cook (Best Actress nominee Assi Levy) who dreams of becoming a writer; Yuval Shafferman’s Things Behind the Sun, the story of a man who looks back on his life while his father lies dying; and Dina Zvi-Riklis’s Three Mothers, about three Egyptian sisters whose promising lives turn out to be tragically unfulfilling. (The winner in the Best Film category will be Israel’s submission for the Best Foreign-Language Film Oscar.)
Veteran Gila Almagor, known as the First Lady of Israeli Cinema and one of the stars of Three Mothers, received a Best Actress nomination for her role in Tied Hands, the story of a mother desperately looking for marijuana in the streets of Tel Aviv in order to ease the suffering of her AIDS-stricken son. She won a Special Award at this year’s Jerusalem Film Festival for her performances in those two films.
Notably absent from the list of Best Film nominees was Eytan Fox’s The Bubble — the title refers to Tel Aviv, a city in Israel without quite being of Israel — which revolves around a group of young men and women, including a Palestinian-Israeli gay couple, living in that cosmopolitan and liberal-minded Israeli city.
The 2006 Ophir Award winners will be announced during a Sept. 14 ceremony at the Tel Aviv Opera House.
Full list of nominees for the 2006 Ophir Awards
Documentary Deadline for Oscar Consideration
Pedro Almodovar Retrospective in West Hollywood
Harold Lloyd Photos at the AMPAS
Great To Be Nominated: Network
Comments
Leave a Reply
Note: All comments are moderated. Different views and opinions are welcome, but abusive/bigoted/flaming comments will NOT be approved. Also, please be aware that the Alternative Film Guide has NO contact information for the talent mentioned in this blog or any information pertaining to or access to distributors'/producers' film prints.
