Haifa Film Festival Announces Winners with Emotional Tribute to Nitzan Giladi
The 42nd Haifa International Film Festival announced its winners, honoring Shmuel Broh's film and paying a poignant posthumous tribute to late director Nitzan Giladi.
The 42nd Haifa International Film Festival announced its winners across various categories on Friday, highlighting remarkable achievements in Israeli and international cinema. The prestigious main prize in the Israeli Feature Film Competition was awarded to "Hagar - Eretz," directed by Shmuel Broh.
The jury, featuring prominent figures such as Anat Atzmon, Sarig Peker, Hila Medalia, Yael Shuv, and George Ovashvili, praised the film for its cinematic depth. "The film, drawing inspiration from historical tragedy, utilizes a multi-layered narrative and cinematic depth to depict the dramatic fate of Ethiopian Jews amidst a complex, violent, and unbearable political reality," the judges wrote.
Honoring Nitzan Giladi
A deeply emotional moment of the festival was the posthumous recognition of director and screenwriter Nitzan Giladi, who passed away last July at the age of 56 after a battle with cancer. Giladi was honored with two awards for his final works: his feature film "And Love" received a special mention in the Israeli competition, and "Nehama," which he wrote, directed, and produced—dealing with grief following the October 7 tragedy—won the award for best short independent film.
"This is a film by a creator who dedicated his life to stories about identity, family, and a place in the world," the judges noted in their rationale, highlighting his pioneering role in bringing LGBTQ+ narratives to Israeli screens.
Additional Winners
"Blue Marks" by Dina Zvi-Riklis emerged as another major winner, capturing three awards. The film shared the jury prize for best feature film with "Double Panther" directed by Marco Carmel and Yoav Shotan-Gosen. Zvi-Riklis also won the best screenplay award based on Emily Ammouti's book, while Noa Ohayon took home the best actress award. Yaakov Zada-Daniel won the best actor award for his role in "Double Panther," with the jury praising the intensity and sensitivity of his portrayal.
In the documentary competition, Tomer Heymann's "I Want to Tell My Story" won the jury prize, and Reut Ackerman's "Habayta!" received the Anat Peled Prize for best debut film. In the international Carmel Competition, the top prize went to Lance Hammer's "Lost Queen," a British-American production focusing on a family dealing with Alzheimer's disease.
