The first of the Israeli films screened was director Rephael Nadjari's "Psalms", which tells the story of the crisis a Jerusalem family goes through after the father's disappearance. The film was exceptionally well received, and the audience gave the director and actors a standing ovation.
Eran Kolirin's "The Band's Visit", competing for the Un Certain Regard prize, which awards young talent and encourages innovative and audacious works, was awarded the 'Coup de Coeur du Jury' by the Jury of the FIPRESCI (International Federation of Film Critics). The film was also awarded the 26th Youth Prize in the Un Certain Regard section. This award enables a jury comprised of young film lovers to give their verdict about films screened in the Competition and Un Certain Regard sections.
This is the first Israeli-French co-production of a feature film. The film, which deals with the journey of an Egyptian police band that gets lost while on a tour of Israel, received many praises and was bought for distribution in many countries, including the United States
A third cinematographic triumph was claimed by writers Shira Geffen and Etgar Keret, whose first film "Meduzot" (Jellyfish), won the Camera d'Or award for the best film by debut directors. It also won the French Artist and Writers Guild's (SACD) best director award and the TV5Monde's "Young Critics" award, awarded by a jury of 36 French students.
The film evolves around the lives of three women living in Tel Aviv. Verging on the absurd, the film portrays a messy world where everyone must get by as best she can - looking for love, looking for something to remember ... and sometimes to forget.
"Meduzot" is not the first Israeli movie to receive the Camera d'Or. That honor went three years ago to director Keren Yedaya's "Or" ("My Treasure"), about a teenage girl who does all she can to support her prostitute mother.
The success of "Meduzot" is one more notch in the belt of Israeli cinema, which has done well at international film festivals in recent years. Previously this year, Dror Shaul's "Adama Meshugaat" won the World Cinema Jury Prize for dramatic films at the Sundance Festival, and Joseph Cedar's "Beaufort" won the Silver Bear Best Director Award at the Berlin Film Festival.