“There is no greater slap in the face of Israeli citizens than the embarrassing and detached annual Ophir Awards ceremony,” Zohar, a member of Israel’s conservative party, said in a statement calling the win “disgraceful,” as reported by Israeli media (via Deadline). “Starting with the 2026 budget, this pathetic ceremony will no longer be funded by taxpayers’ money. Under my watch, Israeli citizens will not pay from their pockets for a ceremony that spits in the faces of our heroic soldiers.”
The win is especially vexing as, under Israel’s protocol, the winner of the Ophir Awards is automatically put forth as the country’s Oscar contender. It remains to be seen whether the country will change that protocol in the face of this win. It also remains to be seen whether Zohar has the authority to defund the awards at all, as Israel’s Association for Civil Rights has reportedly said it would challenge a move like this in the courts. Assaf Amir, Chairman of the Israeli Film Academy, seems confident that the film will make its way to the Oscars. “Israeli cinema once again demonstrates its relevance and ability to respond to complex and painful realities. This is a film full of empathy—for all human beings. Especially in the harsh reality we live in, as the never-ending war in Gaza takes a terrible toll in death and destruction, the ability to see the ‘other,’ even if he is not of your own people, gives me small hope,” he said in a statement. “In the face of the Israeli government’s attacks on Israeli cinema and culture, and the calls from parts of the international film community to boycott us, the selection of The Sea is a powerful and resounding response. I am proud that an Arabic-language film, born of collaboration between Jewish and Palestinian Israelis, will represent Israel in the Oscar competition.”
Amir is referring to a recent pledge to boycott “Israeli film institutions… that are implicated in genocide and apartheid against the Palestinian people,” which, as of this writing, as been signed by over 4,500 actors, directors, and other film industry workers including Emma Stone, Joaquin Phoenix, Mark Ruffalo, and more. (You can find the full list here.) “As filmmakers, actors, film industry workers, and institutions, we recognize the power of cinema to shape perceptions,” a letter associated with the boycott reads. “In this urgent moment of crisis, where many of our governments are enabling the carnage in Gaza, we must do everything we can to address complicity in that unrelenting horror.”
