JFF 2023 Winners

The Jerusalem Film Festival is delighted to announce today (July 20th 2023) the winners in the various competitions. The total sum of the awards at the festival this year is approximately 1,000,000 ILS.

International Competition

Jury: Claire Denis (President), Whit Stillman, Florian Zeller, Joana Vicente, Maria Schrader

The Nechama Rivilin Award for Best International Film

Ama Gloria – Directed by Marie Amachoukeli, Produced by Benedicte Couvreur.

Jury Motivation: The jury's unanimous choice for the Best Film Award is Ama Gloria by Marie Amachoukeli for its extraordinary poignancy, beauty and insight.

Best Director Award

Lila Avilés for Totem

Jury Motivation: The jury's choice for the second prize, Best Director, is Lila Aviles for Totem, her rich and lively portrait of a family at an exceptional moment.

Special Mention

For the ensemble cast of The Delinquents by Rodrigo Moreno

First Feature Competition

Jury: Ali Abbasi, Barbara Albert, Sebastian Meise

The GWFF Award for Best First Feature

Safe Place – Directed by Juraj Lerotić, produced by Miljenka Čogelja

Jury Motivation: Watching safe place is a physical experience. Painful as well as deeply human,even funny in moments. Precisely observed, shot, edited, acted and directed. It touched us deeply.

Special Mention

If Only I Could Hibernate – Directed by Zoljargal Purevdash, Produced by Frédéric Corvez, Zoljargal Purevdash, Maéva Savinien.

In the Spirit of Freedom Competition

Jury: Sébastien Lifshitz, Yael Perlov, Manuela Martelli

Cummings Award for Best Feature Film

Blanquita – Directed by Fernando Guzzoni, produced by Giancarlo Nasi, Pablo Zimbrón, Donato Rotunno, Pascal Guerrin, Yves Darondeau, Emmanuel Priou, Beata Rzeźniczek.

Jury Motivation: Through the powerful portrayal of a young and broken woman, Fernando Guzzoni has delivered a profound narrative that delves deeply into the minds of the victims of sexual abuse by political figures in Chile. The film takes us on a hypnotic journey into the horror of real events, using immersive sound, subtle editing, and cinematic images.

The MKR Award for Best Documentary

Reality – Directed by Tina Satter, produced by Noah Stahl, Brad Becker-Parton, Riva Marker, Greg Nobile.

Jury Motivation: Even though Reality is a feature film, the story is based on the exact transcript of the recording of Reality Lee Winner's arrest by the FBI. The director's choices to use a huis clos situation and strict respect to the dialogue that occurred create an incredible and virtuose mise en scene, between documentary and fiction.

Chantal Akerman Competition

Jury: Julian Rosefeldt, Mathilde Henrot, Chen Tamir

The Chantal Akerman Prize

The Echo – Directed by Tatiana Huezo

Jury Motivation: For its profound tenderness to its subjects, its sensitivity to the plight of rural women, and the beauty of its imagery, the Chantal Ackerman Award goes to “El Eco” by Tatiana Huezo.

Special Mentions

Orlando, My Political Biography by Paul B. Preciado

The Kiev Trial by Sergei Loznitsa

Israeli Feature Film Competition

Jury: Kornél Mundruczó (President), Jasmila Žbanić, Joseph Cedar, Alexandru Belc

The Haggiag Award for Best Israeli Feature

Daniel Auerbach – Directed by David Volach, Produced by Eyal Shiray.

Jury Motivation: The film handels eternal questions such as complexity of identity, relation with religion, nationality, creation and narcissism, creativity and sexual identity. The story is told in the most profound, funny, furious and hyper-jewish way; The bitter-sweet approach to the comedy and drama of the film is a true celebration.

The GWFF Award for Best Israeli First Feature

The Taste of Apples is Red – Directed by Ehab Tarabieh, Produced by Jonathan Doweck, Sol Goodman

Jury Motivation: We appreciate the game in between the reality and mythical aspects of the movie, the process of digging through your own cultural heritage and playing with the filmmaker’s own original elements.

The Anat Pirchi Award for Best Screenplay

Asaf Saban for Delegation

Jury Motivation: With a very contradicted and difficult subject matter, this script finds a very clever and special perspective which does not ignore the past of the topic, but also finds a freshe answer for the new generation.

The Anat Pirchi Award for Best Performance in a Feature Film

Emos Ayeno for Under the Shadow of the Sun

Jury Motivation: Ayeno's unbelievable performance doesn't give just complexity and dimension to the character, but his stubborn silence opens up the movie's untold storyline full of past and personality.

The Ensemble Award

Delegation – Yoav Bavly, Neomi Harari, Leib Lev Levin, Ezra Dagan, Alma Dishy

Jury Motivation: One can feel the spirit of the film, the joy of creation, celebrating the storytelling, editing, cinematography and the acting; The performances of Yoav Bavly, Neomi Harari and Lev Levin but also Ezra Dagan and Alma Dishy makes the movie shine bright as it does.

Israeli Cinema Awards

The Aaron Emanuel Award for Best Cinematography

Boaz Yehonatan Yacov for Daniel Auerbach

Jury Motivation: As a movie that its subject is just words, giving a cinematic aspect is a very difficult task; The cinematography has an amazing approach, which elevates the movie to another level.

The Yossi Mulla Award for Best Original Score

Yonatan Alblak for Daniel Auerbach

Jury Motivation: The music is perfectly tuned with the characters' world, knowing exactly when to pull in or out. Even Though the music is melodically almost invisible, the score really stays with you.

The Diamond Award for Best Editing

Ex æquo

Haim Tabakman & Lev Goltser for Daniel Auerbach

Jury Motivation: In Daniel Auerbach, the structure of the scene is unbelievable. It has amazing timing, and also beauty between the cuts. Are graduates for the editors also for knowing what to leave out…

Ayala Bengad for The Three of Us

Jury Motivation: In The Three of Us, the editing was the major issue. How to tell a very complex story in the most intimate way. This intimacy was born in the editing room, creating a beautiful human portrait.

Israeli Documentary Competition

The Diamond Award for Best Documentary

The Three of Us – Directed by Henya Brodbeker, produced by Avigail Shperber

Jury Motivation: Powerful and intimate portrait of a family struggling to find a community to support them at a time of crisis. The movie breaks borders and has a strong universal message about searching for a sense of belonging.

The Diamond Award for Best Director

Henya Brodbeker for The Three of Us

The director serves a naturalistic, non-intrusive look at her family, with high level empathy and without betraying her roots and community.

The Aliza & Micha Shagrir Award for Best Documentary Research

Jonathan Avrahami & Assaf Lapid for The Return from the Other Planet

Jury Motivation: Uncovering a hidden layer underneath a known character, this deep-dive research unfolds the story of Israel's most mysterious author.

Israeli Short Film Competition

Jury: Frauke Finsterwalder, Teresa Cavina, Dana Morag

The Diamond Award for Best Live Action Short Film

Katya’s Hand by Tom Shoval

The Aliza & Micha Shagrir Award for Best Documentary Short Film

Listen to My Voice by Zohar Orian Cohen

The Diamond Award for Best Student Short Film

Single Light by Shaylee Atary

The Bell-Bielski Family Award for Best Performance

Danielle Zayonts for The Source of All Beauty

The Jerusalem Film & Television Fund - The Jerusalem Development Authority Award for Best Short Animated Film

Deadline by Idan Gilboa

Special Mentions

Yona Namer Ira by Rotem Kapelinsky

Still Waters by Tsivia Barkai-Yacov

Israeli Video Art & Experimental Film Competition

The Lia van Leer Award, courtesy of Rivka Saker

They All Died by Ayala Berger

Ostrovsky Family Fund Award

Riding Out of the Saddle by Dan Robert Lahiani