Sderot Film Festival Marks 25 Years With Premieres, Master Classes and a New Incubator

The Cinema of the South Festival will mark its 25th anniversary at the Sderot Cinematheque from November 1 to 5. The program includes television premieres, Israeli and international films, meetings with filmmakers, competitions and music.

The festival was founded by the School of Audio and Visual Arts at Sapir Academic College. This year it will spotlight filmmakers from Sderot and the western Negev, among them creators whose work examines life in the three years since the October 7 Hamas-led massacres in Israel.

The opening evening will bring Hanan Savyon and Guy Amir to the stage to discuss their Netflix series "Bros." It will be followed by the world premiere of the first two episodes of the show's second season. The series centers on two childhood friends and Beitar Jerusalem fans who run a pub in Jerusalem together while a series of crises puts their friendship to the test.

Advance screenings will include "Motherland," a KAN comedy-drama by Yael Hedaya starring Dana Ivgy, Sasson Gabay and Alma Zack. Audiences will also see "Whose Daughter Are You?," a KAN documentary series about Mizrahi women in Israel. It is directed by Efrat Shalom Danon and Keren Shayo and produced by Osnat Trabelsi. Another session will host the team behind the popular KAN series "The Pshute," including director Dan Messer and creators Bar Elmaliach Donzov, Chen Rotman and Oshrit Sarusi.

The festival will close with a preview of Iris Zaki's "What Was She Thinking?," a film about choosing not to have children in Israeli society. Zaki heads the school's master's degree program. The closing film also pays tribute to editor Nili Feller, a two-time Ophir Award winner. The tribute will feature four films she edited, a master class, and meetings with filmmakers including Ari Folman and Dani Rosenberg.

Returning Sapir graduates will present new work. Efrat Corem brings "Heart of Gold," starring Chen Amsalem, Menashe Noy and Israel Atias. Shir Houri Abu presents the documentary "100 Gates," and Sderot filmmaker Tal Avitan shows "Carlos Outside the Lines," about a children's soccer coach in Kiryat Gat. Eight winning films from previous editions of the festival will also be screened.

Regional programming features "Sketches of the Soul," a collection of five shorts by western Negev filmmakers about life after October 7. The festival will also hold the premiere of Sami Shalom Chetrit's "My Beloved Gourama," which follows his father's life in Morocco and Israel.

Swiss director Thomas Imbach will present two films and lead a master class, in cooperation with the Swiss Embassy. The closing ceremony will launch Negba, a new incubator for young filmmakers from the south. More information is available on the festival's page on the Sapir Academic College website.