The 33rd Jerusalem Film Festival (July 7-17) is to include a new international competition strand.
Jerusalem has confirmed that it has already locked in the first two
titles for the new competition, Icelandic director Rúnar Rúnarsson’s
San Sebastian winner
Sparrows, and Danish Oscar contender
A War by Tobias Lindholm.
Overall, the new competitive section will showcase around 10 carefully
chosen feature films and devote itself to presenting their Israeli
premieres.
JFF artistic director Elad Samorzik noted that the new
competition intends to screen films from all different countries and of
all different cinematic persuasions, and that quality and artistic
distinction would be the main criteria for selection.
Samorzik
also specified that, starting at the Berlin Film Festival, he would be
on the lookout for films with a proven track record on the international
festival circuit and with audiences.
Noa Regev, director of both
the Jerusalem Cinematheque and the Jerusalem Film Festival, stated:
“International attendance is up in the last few years, and alongside
that we’re seeking out new opportunities to add to the already
significant body of prize categories.
“We’re really excited about
what this means for the overall diversity and strength of the official
selection and the compelling sidebar offerings we are currently
expanding.”
