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Israel Film Festival in Los Angeles Concludes Its Sold-Out Run With More Than 7,000 Attendees
From left: Ynon Kreiz, Gal Gadot, and Meir Fenigstein attend the 36th Israel Film Festival in Los Angeles opening night on Nov 13, 2024 in Los Angeles. Photo: Jordan Strauss/JanuaryImages
The 36th Israel Film Festival in Los Angeles recently ended with sold-out screenings, more than 7,000 attendees, and the most sponsors in its history of nearly four decades.
The film festival, which is the largest display of Israeli films in the United States, took place Nov. 13-26 after a two-year hiatus due to the ongoing Israel-Hamas war. It ran across six theaters located in Beverly Hills, West Los Angeles, and Encino, and included screenings of more than 40 feature films, documentaries, and student short films from Israel’s film schools. Audience members were also treated to post-screening Q&A’s with a total of 20 Israeli filmmakers and other members of the film industry.
“Los Angeles audiences thoroughly embraced the return of the Israel Film Festival, which had been postponed due to the war in the Middle East,” said Meir Fenigstein, founder and executive director of the Israel Film Festival. “Residents from Santa Monica and Beverly Hills to the San Fernando valley gathered to be entertained and celebrate Israeli culture, storytelling, its filmmakers, and talent both behind and in front of the camera. As our hearts ache for so many affected by the war, the sense of community was pervasive as people shared, learned, and were reminded of all that Israel has to offer.”
“Come Closer,” which is Tom Nesher’s directorial debut and Israel’s submission for the Academy Awards in the category of best international feature film, received the film festival’s Audience Choice Award for Best Feature Film. The film is about a young woman named Eden who struggles to cope with the sudden death of her brother. After he is killed in a car accident, Eden discovers that her brother had a secret girlfriend. The two women lean on each other for support and bond in their grief, but their relationship becomes obsessive, passionate, and dangerous.
The Audience Choice Award for Best Documentary was given to “The Child Within Me,” directed by Yaniv Amoday and Eti Aneta and winner of the Ophir Award for Best Documentary Film. The film spotlights the musical career and personal life of Israeli musician Yehuda Poliker. The festival’s Audience Choice Award for Best Student Film was awarded to “Girl NO. 60427,” which is about a young girl who finds and reads a secret notebook that her grandmother kept during the Holocaust. The film was directed by Shulamit Lifshitz, who is a student at The Ma’aleh School of Film and Television in Jerusalem, and previously won the BAFTA Student Film Award for Best Live Action Film.
Israeli actress and producer Gal Gadot awarded the 2024 IFF Industry Leadership Award to Mattel Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Ynon Kreiz, who helped spearhead the company’s first and highly successful global film “Barbie.” The 2024 IFF Lifetime Achievement Award was given to Israeli actor and comedian Shaike Levi.
This was the first year that the Israel Film Festival hosted a Community Partner screening series, in which nonprofit Jewish and Israeli organizations in Los Angeles sponsored more than 20 exclusive premiere screenings for their members. The festival also hosted for the first time a panel of Israeli-American producers discussing the possibility of co-productions between American and Israeli film industries.
The 37th Israel Film Festival in Los Angeles is scheduled to take place in November 2025.
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Lebanon Must Disarm Hezbollah to Have a Shot at Better Days, Says US Envoy
Thomas Barrack at the Brooklyn Federal Courthouse in Brooklyn, New York, U.S., November 4, 2022. Photo: REUTERS/Brendan McDermid/File Photo
i24 News – Lebanon’s daunting social, economic and political issues would not get resolved unless the state persists in the efforts to disarm Hezbollah, the Iranian proxy behind so much of the unrest and destruction, special US envoy Tom Barrack told The National.
“You have Israel on one side, you have Iran on the other, and now you have Syria manifesting itself so quickly that if Lebanon doesn’t move, it’s going to be Bilad Al Sham again,” he said, using the historical Arabic name for the region sometimes known as “larger Syria.”
The official stressed the need to follow through on promises to disarm the Iranian proxy, which suffered severe blows from Israel in the past year, including the elimination of its entire leadership, and is considered a weakened though still dangerous jihadist outfit.
“There are issues that we have to arm wrestle with each other over to come to a final conclusion. Remember, we have an agreement, it was a great agreement. The problem is, nobody followed it,” he told The National.
Barrack spoke on the heels of a trip to Beirut, where he proposed a diplomatic plan for the region involving the full disarmament of Hezbollah by the Lebanese state.
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Report: Putin Urges Iran to Accept ‘Zero Enrichment’ Nuclear Deal With US
Russian President Vladimir Putin meets Iranian counterpart Masoud Pezeshkian on the sidelines of a cultural forum dedicated to the 300th anniversary of the birth of the Turkmen poet and philosopher Magtymguly Fragi, in Ashgabat, Turkmenistan, Oct. 11, 2024. Photo: Sputnik/Alexander Scherbak/Pool via REUTERS
i24 News – Russian President Vladimir Putin has told Iranian leadership that he supports the idea of a nuclear deal in which Iran is unable to enrich uranium, the Axios website reported on Saturday. The Russian strongman also relayed the message to his American counterpart, President Donald Trump, the report said.
Iranian news agency Tasnim issued a denial, citing an “informed source” as saying Putin had not sent any message to Iran in this regard.
Also on Saturday, Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi stated that “Any negotiated solution must respect Iran’s right to enrichment. No agreement without recognizing our right to enrichment. If negotiations occur, the only topic will be the nuclear program. No other issues, especially defense or military matters, will be on the agenda.”
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Syria’s Al-Sharaa Attending At Least One Meeting With Israeli Officials in Azerbaijan
Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa speaks during a joint press conference with French President Emmanuel Macron after a meeting at the Elysee Palace in Paris, France, May 7, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Stephanie Lecocq/Pool
i24 News – Syrian President Ahmed Al-Sharaa is attending at least one meeting with Israeli officials in Azerbaijan today, despite sources in Damascus claiming he wasn’t attending, a Syrian source close to President Al-Sharaa tells i24NEWS.
The Syrian source stated that this is a series of two or three meetings between the sides, with Syrian Foreign Minister Asaad al-Shaibani also in attendance, along with Ahmed Al-Dalati, the Syrian government’s liaison for security meetings with Israel.
The high-level Israeli delegation includes a special envoy of Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu, as well as security and military figures.
The purpose of the meetings is to discuss further details of the security agreement to be signed between Israel and Syria, the Iranian threat in Syria and Lebanon, Hezbollah’s weapons, the weapons of Palestinian militias, the Palestinians camps in Lebanon, and the future of Palestinian refugees from Gaza in the region.
The possibility of opening an Israeli coordination office in Damascus, without diplomatic status, might also be discussed.
The source stated that the decision to hold the meetings in Azerbaijan, made by Israel and the US, is intended to send a message to Iran.
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