Cinema of Israel

Cinema of Israel (Hebrew: קולנוע ישראלי, romanized: Kolnoa Yisraeli) comprises the film industry and its film productions, whether made within the State of Israel or by Israeli film production companies abroad. Most Israeli films are produced in Hebrew, but there are productions in other languages such as Arabic and English. Israel has been nominated for more Academy Awards for Best Foreign Language Film than any other country in the Middle East.

Israel's first full-length feature film, Hill 24 Doesn't Answer (1955) was directed by Britain's Thorold Dickinson and retells the Establishment of the State of Israel in 1948 and the War of Independence. In the 1950s and early 1960s, a number of British and American films were set and filmed in Israel. These included the epic historical drama, Exodus (1960), also about the founding of the State of Israel. The film, directed by Otto Preminger, was based on the 1958 novel of the same name by Leon Uris and starred Paul Newman.

From the 1960s to the 1970s, films of the Bourekas genre were especially prominent, often including ethnic tensions between the Ashkenazim and the Mizrahim or Sephardim and the conflict between rich and poor. The genre was led by directors such as Ephraim Kishon and Menahem Golan producing popular films such as Sallah Shabati (1964) and Kazablan (1973). This period was also marked by the arrival of the New Sensibility genre, influenced by the French New Wave. The genre was pioneered by Uri Zohar with groundbreaking films such as Hole in the Moon (1964) and Every Bastard a King (1967). Moshé Mizrahi was also a significant filmmaker of the genre, with I Love You Rosa (1972) and The House on Chelouche Street (1973). Stars such as Chaim Topol and Gila Almagor rose to prominence during this period.

Holocaust representation began to appear toward the end of the Mandate Palestine era, with My Father's House (1947), and more projects emerging from the late-1970s onwards.

Israeli cinema has since concerned itself with social themes, Moshe Dayan's Life According to Agfa (1993) looks at revellers and employees of a Tel Aviv pub as a microcosm of Israeli society. Dan Wolman's Hide and Seek (1980) was the first Israeli picture to address homosexual themes. Amazing Grace (1992) by Amos Guttman deals with AIDS in Tel Aviv's gay community. Yossi & Jagger (2002) by Eytan Fox explores romance between two Israel Defense Forces soldiers, and returns to central gay themes in Yossi (2012) and Sublet (2020). Ofir Raul Graizer's film The Cakemaker (2017) was also notable for its depiction of homosexuality and grief.

Marriage and divorce have also been prominent themes for Israeli filmmakers, with Lior Ashkenazi and Ronit Elkabetz in Dover Kosashvili's drama, Late Marriage (2001) as a couple who are subject to the intervention of tradition-minded Georgian Jewish immigrant relatives. Elkabetz also starred in a critically acclaimed trilogy about the unhappy marriage of Viviane Amsalem, in To Take a Wife (2004), Shiva (2008) and Gett: The Trial of Viviane Amsalem (2014). Rama Burshtein also explores Haredi marriage and engagement in Fill the Void (2012).

Filmmakers have also tackled war with Israel's neighbours, with Kippur (2000) by Amos Gitai which deals with the Yom Kippur War and Waltz with Bashir (2008) by Ari Folman, which tackles conflict with Lebanon. Talya Lavie explores female IDF soldiers in the black comedy, Zero Motivation (2014). Samuel Maoz also deals with military themes in Foxtrot (2017). Arab-Jewish relations are also explored in other contexts, through a friendship between small-town Israeli Jews and a visiting Egyptian Ceremonial Police Orchestra in Eran Kolirin's The Band's Visit (2007).

The country is also famed for its prestigious Jerusalem Film Festival, held annually since 1984. The Ophir Awards are the most prestigious awards at national level and awarded by the Israeli Academy of Film and Television. The event is the Israeli equivalent of the American Academy Awards.