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Agora, the industry section of the Thessaloniki International Film Festival, has selected 10 films from seven countries for its works in progress strand.

The strand selects projects in post-production stage, which have a link to the Mediterranean region and Southeastern Europe, and presents them to sales agents, distributors, producers, streaming platforms and festival programmers with the objective to raise finishing funds, secure sales agents, festival premieres and book meetings with potential partners.

“This year’s powerful projects challenge contemporary issues and gaze upon the human condition through gripping imagery, sometimes painfully beautiful storytelling and creative cinematic language. Their common compass navigates us through the subjects of social injustice, exploration of human relationships and common desires and choices people make to treat one another and the environment they inhabit,” the festival said in a statement.

Agora gives out several awards for the works in progress films. These include the Authorwave post-production award...

Exclusive: Lior Ashkenazi (Foxtrot and HBO’s Valley Of Tears) and Sasson Gabay (The Band’s Visit and HBO’s Oslo), two of Israel’s most noted actors, will co-star in Karaoke, which is being directed by Moshe Rosenthal (Confess).

The film is produced by Efrat Cohen (The Dive) of Tel Aviv University’s Gaudeamus Productions. Ben Giladi of Rainmaker Entertainment serves as executive producer. Dominique Welinski’s Dw are co-producing. The project is financed by Israel Film Fund and The Steve Tisch Foundation for First Features.

Karaoke tells the story of an older provincial couple (Gabay and Rita Shukrun) who develop an odd infatuation with their flamboyant new neighbour – former modelling agent, Itzik Marziano (Ashkenazi).

The project is now shooting in Israel. It was originally presented at the IFP Project Forum and Deadline understand there are buyers circling.

Rosenthal, alumni of the Steve Tisch School of Film and Television,...

Yona Rozenkier’s “The Dive” and Tsivia Barkai-Yacov’s “Red Cow” have scooped The Haggiag Award for Best Israeli Feature Film and the Anat Pirchi Award for Best Debut Film at the 35th edition of the Jerusalem Film Festival.

“The Dive” and “Red Cow” shared the award Thursday for best debut film. Produced by Efrat Cohen and Koby Mizrahi ,”The Dive” follows three brothers who reunite for one weekend to bury their father in their native kibbutz on the border with Lebanon before going to war. The movie, which also played at Locarno, is being sold by Stray Dogs.

“Red Cow” is set in an Israeli settlement in East Jerusalem and follows the sexual awakening of a teenage girl living with her widowed father, who is an Orthodox Jew. The movie world premiered at Berlin in the Generation section.

The Israeli competition jury, which comprised Romanian director Calin Peter Netzer,...

The company is screening ’The Love Letter’ in the Short Film Competition.

Tel Aviv University’s fledgling company Gaudeamus Productions is enjoying a high-profile Jerusalem Film Festival (Jff) debut this year, both in the festival line-up and its parallel industry events.

The production outfit showed Atara Frish’s award-winning work The Love Letter in the Israeli Short Film Competition on Monday (Aug 30) and will premiere its first feature-length work, Yona Rozenkier’s sibling drama The Dive in the Feature Competition on Wednesday (Aug 1), which heads to the Locarno Film Festival later this month.

Gaudeamus is also celebrating a win for...

Avishai Sivan’s “Lot’s Wife” won the inaugural Goralska Award at the 13th edition of Pitch Point, the Israeli projects showcase which runs alongside the Jerusalem Film Festival.

Set up at Ronen Ben Tal at Plan b Productions, the fantasy-filled “Lot’s Wife” follows a religious couple who has a child born with two heads, named Noah and Lot. Lot is wicked, Noah good-hearted. After Noah dies and his head is detached, Lot sets on a challenge to overcome his nature.

The Goralska Award came with a cash prize of €20,000. Now in production, “Lot’s Wife” marks Sivan’s follow-up to “Tikkun,” which won the top prize at the Jerusalem festival in 2015 and was released in the U.S. by Kino Lorber.

The jury, composed of Kirsten Niehuus (Medienboard Berlin Brandenburg), Cedomir Kolar (Asap Films), Dominique Welinski (Dw), Tamara Tatishvili (Eurimages) and Gabor Greiner (Films Boutique), praised “Lot’s...

Avishai Sivan’s Lot’s Wife scoops top award.

Avishai Sivan’s film project Lot’s Wife has clinched the new $23,200 Goralska Award prize at the 13th edition of Jerusalem Film Festival’s (Jff) Pitch Point event, which is aimed at connecting Israeli filmmakers with international partners.

Described by the director as a cross-genre horror, fantasy, freak-show work, the picture revolves around a Hasidic couple’s two-headed baby. Going by the names of Noah and Lot, the two heads have opposite good and evil natures. When the virtuous Noah dies and his head is detached, Lot tries to mend his ways.

Tikkun director among Israeli filmmakers presenting at 13th edition of showcase.

Ahead of the 2018 Jerusalem Film Festival (July 26 – Aug 5), the projects for the annual Pitch Point competition have been unveiled.

Held on July 27 and 28, the initiative, now in its 13th year, is an opportunity for Israeli filmmakers to showcase in-progress projects to attending international film industry, with a view to forging co-production ties.

The 2018 showcase includes new works from Avishai Sivan, Shira Geffen, Keren Yedaya, That Lovely Girl), and Tawfik Abu Wael (Cannes 2004 Fipresci prize winner Atash).

The Pitch Point jury this year is comprised of Kirsten Niehuus (Medienboard Berlin...