The Jerusalem Film Festival (, ) is an international film festival held annually in Jerusalem, It was established in 1984 by the Director of the Jerusalem Cinematheque and Israeli Film Archive, Lia Van Leer, and has since become the main Israeli event for filmmakers and enthusiasts. Over the course of ten days every summer, over 200 films from 60 countries are screened at the Festival, along with a variety of special events, panels, and meetings with prominent local and international filmmakers, as well as professional industry workshops and events.About us Official website
History
The Festival was established by Israel Prize recipient and founder of the Jerusalem Cinematheque and Israeli Film Archive, Lia Van Leer. After being invited to serve on the jury at the 1983 Cannes Film Festival, Van Leer decided to create Israel's first international film festival. Already in its first year, the Festival had the honor of hosting key cinematic figures such as Jeanne Moreau, Lillian Gish, Warren Beatty and John Schlesinger.
Since 2005, the Festival has included the Pitch Point, a platform for Israeli artists to present their full-length feature projects in stages of development and production, to select members of the international film industry. This allows local filmmakers to create international networks of communication, expand financing and resources, and promote co-productions and potential collaborations.
Festival Competitions
The Festival spotlights Israeli cinema, with competitions carrying the largest awards, exposes local art to international journalists and professionals, screens Israeli premieres along with retrospectives and new restorations of the finest Israeli films. Through these competitions, nearly 10 million dollars in prizes have been awarded to Israeli filmmakers in the fields of feature, documentary, student, and short films.
Awards for Israeli Cinema The Festival awards prizes for best international films. Other prizes are the In the Spirit of Freedom Award for cinematic pieces dealing with man's constant strife for justice and freedom, the Intersections prize competition for experimental film, the International Debut Award, the Jewish Experience Award for films dealing with issues of Jewish identity and history, and the Wim van Leer Award for High School Students.2009 Jerusalem Film Festival
List of Wolgin / Haggiag Prize Recipients for Full-Length Feature Films DirectorFilmYearIsaac Zepel Yeshurun Green Fields1989Daniel WachsmannThe Appointed1990Avraham HeffnerLaura Adler's Last Love Affair1990Savi GabizonShuru1991Amos GuttmanAmazing Grace1992Aner PremingerDummy in a Circle1993Dan WolmanThe Distance 1994Eli CohenUnder the Domim Tree1995Savi GabizonLovesick on Nana Street1995Joseph PichadzeUnder Western Eyes1996Julie SchlezAfula Express1997Amos GitaiYom Yom1998Arik KaplunYana's Friends1999 DirectorFilmYearJoseph PichadzeBesame Mucho2000Dan WolmanForeign Sister2000Dover KosashviliLate Marriage2001Nir BergmanBroken Wings2002Savi GabizonNina's Tragedies2003Taufik Abu WaelAtash (Thirst)2004Keren YedayaOr (My Treasure)2004Eyal HalfonWhat a Wonderful Place2005Dror SaboDead End2006Eran KolirinThe Band's Visit2007Shlomi Elkabetz and Ronit ElkabetzShiva2008Yaron Shani and Scandar CoptiAjami2009Nir BergmanIntimate Grammar2010Yossi MadmoniGood Morning Mr. Fidelman2011Ami LivneSharqiya2012Tom ShovalYouth2013Ronit and Shlomi ElkabetzGett – The Trial of Viviane Amsalem 2014Tali Shalom EzerPrincess2014Avishai SivanTikkun2015Asaf PolonskyOne Week and a Day2016Matan YairScaffolding2017Yona RozenkierThe Dive 2018Tsivia Barkai-YacovRed Cow2018
Opening Event at Sultan's Pool The Jerusalem Film Festival holds its traditional opening event at Sultan's Pool in the presence of film enthusiasts, public dignitaries, and invited guests. YearDatesOpening FilmNotable Guests1984May 27 – June 17Le Bal by Ettore ScolaWarren Beatty, Lillian Gish, John Schlesinger, Jeanne Moreau, Andre Delvaux, Marianne Rosenbaum, Edna Politi, Peter Patzak, Menachem Golan, Yoram Globus, Gila Almagor, Izza Genini, Dr. Martin Peretz, Lilly Rivlin, David McLeod, Michael Childers1985June 1 – June 8Rembetiko by Costas FerrisVittorio Taviani, Paul Cox, Charlotte Silvera, Lindsay Kemp, Nina Rosenblum1986June 28 – July 5Ginger and Fred by Federico FelliniAgnieszka Holland, Vera Belmont, Erika Szanto, Axel Corti, Tony Palmer, Klaus Hellwig, Izza Genini, Alain Marchand, Tuncel Kurtiz, Diana Rigg, Katalin Petenyi, Carol Polakoff, Desire Ecare, Binnie Kristal-Andersson, Seref Gur, Johanna Spector, Bengt and Irmgard von zur Muhlen1987June 27 – July 4Late Summer Blues by Renen SchorrMarcello Mastroianni, Peter Ustinov, Jack Gold, Nagisa Oshima, Alan Arkin, Delphine Seyrig, Jorgen Leth, Marta Meszaros, Jan Nowicki, Stole Popov, Svetozar Cvetkovic, Giuseppe Rossini, Gilbert Marouani, Shiela Whitaker, Renee Lichtig, Kryzsztof Zanussi, Carl Davis1988June 30 – July 9A Tribute to Israeli CinemaJane Birkin, Fanny Ardant, Atom Egoyan, Arsinée Khanjian, Andraas Gervai, Jose Luis Gutierrez, Erica Szanto, Official Soviet Cultural Delegation 1989June 29 – July 8Splendor, by Ettore ScolaMona Gamal el-din, Ildiko Enyedi, Chantal Akerman, Grazyna Szapolowska, Albert Johnson, Derek Malcolm, Srdjan Karanovic, Gerhard Sceumann, Jean-Claude Brisseau, Lino Brocka, Ivan Nitchev, Marina Goldovskaya, Fiorella Infascelli, Mark Shivas1990July 12 – July 21The Appointed, by Daniel WachsmannSijiri Bakaba, Ayala Bakaba, Jiri Menzel, Paulus Manker, Gianni Amelio, Herbert Kline, Lucian Pintilie, Andras Suranyi, Henry Jaglom, Vladimir Alenikov, Jim Hoberman, Derek Malcolm1991July 4 – July 13Homicide, by David MametMike Leigh, Roger Corman, Chen Kaige, Vera Belmont, Sasha Harari, Amos Poe, Deepa Mehta, Jon Jost, David Mamet1992July 9 – July 18Howards End, by James Ivory, Strictly Ballroom, by Baz LuhrmannChris Marker, Hal Hartley, Adrienne Shelly, Alan Corneau, Gail Singerm, Lina Wermuller, Isaac Julien, Baz Luhrmann, Armin Mueller-Stahl, Katherine Gilday, Dana Rotberg, Janis Lundman1993July 1 – July 10Much Ado About Nothing by Kenneth Branagh
(International Premiere)Robert De Niro, Arnon Milchan, Harvey Keitel, Otar Iosseliani, Ed Pressman, Henry Jaglom, Dusan Makavejev, Ingrid Caven, Michael Kalik, Sally Potter, Idrissa Ouedraogo, Sheila Whitaker, Mark Shivas, Theo van de Sande1994June 30 – July 9The Hudsucker Proxy by Joel CoenKrzysztof Kieslowski, Zbigniew Preisner, Irene Jacob, Marin Karmitz, Elia Kazan, Mahmoud Zemmouri, Rose Troche, Guinvere Turner, Susanne Bier, Mark Langer, Mark Shivas1995July 6 – July 18The Madness of King George by Nicholas HytnerClaude Lelouch, Michel Boujenah, Alessandra Martines, Arnon Milchan, Arthur Cohen, Bertrand Tavernier, Henry Jaglom, Xavier Beauvois, Boaz Yakin, Robert Crumb, Vadim Abdrashitov, Savva Koulish, Laura Blum, Ridha Behi, Marina Cordoni, Astrid Frank, Izza Genini1996July 4 – July 13Kansas City, by Robert AltmanKrzysztof Zanussi, Chantal Akerman, Derek Malcolm, Susanne Bier, Seymour Cassel, Pierre Chained, Danniel, Ricardo Dias, Jim Hoberman, Jose Lewgoy, Ken Lipper, David Robinson1997July 10 – July 19The Fifth Element, by Luc BessonAlan Rudolph, Bob Hoskins, Christopher Hampton, Francesco Rosi, Clyde Jeavons, Herbert Beigel, Alan Berliner, Michael Verhoeven, Ulrike Ottinger, Becki Probst, Alexander Shpilyuk1998July 9 – July 18The Big Lebowski, by the Coen BrothersRoberto Benigni, Manoel de Oliveira, Jeroen Krabbe, Alan Rickman, Jesse Peretz, Jeremy Thomas, Stanley Kwan, Ferzan Ozpetek, Andreas Thomopoulos, Lidia Bobrova 1999July 8 – July 17All About My Mother, by Pedro AlmodóvarTerrence Malick, Ettore Scola, Vittorio and Paolo Taviani, Marisa Paredes + The Jerusalem Film Festival opening event at the 21st CenturyYearDatesOpening FilmNotable Guests2000July 13 – July 22Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, by Ang LeeAng Lee, Anna Thomson, Anthony Bregman, Errol Morris, Istvan Szabo, Jack Wolgin, James Schamus Jerzy Stuhr, Kirk Douglas, Leon Constantiner, Michael Cacoyannis, Nuri Bilge Ceylan, Sabu, Wim Wenders, Volker Schlondorff2001July 12 – July 21Shrek, by Andrew Adamson and Vicky JensonStephen Frears, B.Z Goldberg, Henry Bean, Malgorzata Szumowska, Ferzan Ozpetek, Radu Gabrea, Andrei Smirnov, Veronique Cayla, David Kessler, Diane Weyerman2002July 18 – July 27Talk to Her by Pedro AlmodóvarKrzystof Zanussi, David Mamet, Anthony Bergman, Godfrey Cheshire, Amos Gitai2003July 10 – July 19Hero by Zhang YimouGeoffrey Gilmore, Uri Fruchtmann, David Kustow, Hany Abu-Assad, Wolfgang Becker, Jean-Pierre Dardenne, Luc Dardenne, Amos Kollek, Aviva Slesin, Sean Welch, Wouter Baremdrecht, Sandrine Brauer, Pierre Menahem, Michel Reilvac, Diane Weyerrmann2004July 8 – July 17Life is a Miracle by Emir KusturicaAnthony Minghella, Emir Kusturica, Dimitri Epides, Ademir Kenovic, Chantal Akerman, Oliver Becker, Ludi Boeken, Anthony Bregman, Niv Fichman, Sam Green, Ulrike Ottinger, Sarig Peker, Jan Schuette, Prasanna Vithanage, Humbert Balsan, Marion Doring, Fabrizio Mosca, Nik Powell, Renate Roginas, Marieanne Bergmann, David Kessler2005July 7 – July 16War of the Worlds by Steven Spielberg Karen Shakhnazarov, Buddhadeb Dasgupta, Ilya Khrzhanovsky, Chris McDonald, Marion Dörling, Marieanne Bergmann, Sharon Rivo, Niv Fischman, Peter Forgács, Lee Kang Sheng, Victor Silakong Kriengsak, Jean-Xavier de Lestrade, Tsai Ming-Liang, Michèle Ohayon, David Puttnam, Pola Rapaport2006July 6 – July 15Someone to Run With by Oded DavidoffRoman Polanski, Atom Egoyan, Robert Lantos, Debra Winger, Howard Feinstein, Catherine le Clef, Mark Anderson, Chantal Akerman, Josh Appignanesi, Wouter Barnendrecht, Ram Bergman, Alan Berliner, Doug Block, Rex Bloomstein, Andrew Brunsberg, Anthony Bregman, Mimmo Calopresti, Julie Depardieu, Marco Tuliio Giordana, Mia Goldman, Swel and Imad Noury, Michel Reilhac, Lilly Rivlin, Sharon Rivo, Ernst “Etchie” Stroh, István Szabó, Michael J. Werner, Arsinée Khanjian, Denis Robert, Daniel Louis, Marie-Josée Croze, Patricia Rozema, Simcha Jacobovici 2007July 5 – July 14Ratatouille, by Brad BirdDanny Dimbort, Avi Lerner, Azize Tan, Ulrike Ottinger, Wouter Barendrecht, Ehud Bleiberg, Susanne Bier, Jane Birkin, Phillipe Blasband, Jeffrey Blitz, Charles Burnett, Saverio Costanzo, Paul Cronin, Craig A. Emanuel, Neil Friedman, Sisse Graum Jørgensen, Anders Thomas Jensen, Dieter Kosslick, David Kustow, João Moreira Salles, Fabrizio Mosca, Michele Ohayon, Jeff Pulver, Michel Reilhac, David Thompson, Marit van den Elshout, Răzvan Vasilescu, Sean Welch2008July 10 – July 19Wall-E, by Andrew StantonAnne Aghion, Anthoney Bergman, José Luis López-Linares, Lucia Cedrón, Molly Dineen, Peter Forgacs, Izza Genini, Huseyin Karabey, Dieter Koslik, David Kustow, Jean-Pierre Lledo, Sergei Loznitsa, Emilio Maillie, John Malkovich, David Schisgall, Michael Winterbottom, Boaz Yakin2009July 9 – July 18A Matter of Size, by Sharon Maymon and Erez TadmorTheo Angelopoulos, Karin Albou, Michael Verhoeven, Larry Weinstein, Jacob Wang, Marat Sarulu, Gerald Peary, Peter Rodger, Maria Victoria Menis, Marion Laine2010July 8 – July 17La Rafle, by Roselyne BoschJean Reno, Ulrike Ottinger2011July 7 – July 16Super 8, by J.J. AbramsBéla Tarr2012July 5 – July 14To Rome with Love, by Woody Allen2013July 4 – July 13Hunting Elephants, by Reshef LeviRichard Linklater, Mohsen Makhmalbaf (Gabbeh, Kandahar, Salaam Cinema), Ben Nabors (William and the Windmill), Pablo Berger (Snow White),