Israel's Culture Minister Threatens to Defund National Film Awards After Palestinian Story Wins Top Honor
The Sea, a film about a 12-year-old Palestinian boy from the West Bank longing to see the sea for the first time, secured the top prize at the Ophir Awards, prompting threats from the culture minister.
Israel's Culture Minister Miki Zohar has threatened to withdraw state funding from the Ophir Awards after the Palestinian-set film The Sea won Best Film. The drama follows 12-year-old Khaled, portrayed by Mohammed Gazawi, as he slips past an IDF checkpoint to reach the Mediterranean—and his undocumented father searches for him.
Zohar called the ceremony "an embarrassing and detached display" that "insults our heroic soldiers," and suggested no Israeli taxpayer money should support an event that, he said, slaps citizens in the face.
Despite uncertainty over whether Zohar can cut the awards' budget, The Sea will represent Israel in the Best International Feature Film category at next year's Oscars. Gazawi also became the youngest ever Best Actor winner at the ceremony.
Baher Agbariya, the film's producer, said The Sea champions "every child's right to live in peace." Assaf Amir, head of the Israeli Academy of Film and Television, responded that amid the Gaza war's devastation, the film offers "small hope" by letting viewers see "the other."
The controversy follows a pledge by thousands of Hollywood professionals to boycott Israeli film bodies accused of genocide. The film conflict comes as Israel faces a UN inquiry labeling its Gaza operations genocide, a charge rejected by Jerusalem as "distorted and false."
The selection of The Sea highlights the power of cinema to foster empathy—and the tensions it can provoke in a divided society.
This topic was reported by BBC News.
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