“The Sea,” a poignant drama about a Palestinian boy from who risks his life to go to the beach for the first time in Tel Aviv, will represent Israel in the international feature race at the Oscars.
The movie, directed by Shai Carmeli Pollak and produced by Baher Agbariya, won best picture at the Ophir Awards, the Israeli equivalent to the Oscars, which qualifies the movie to be the country’s official submission. The movie also won best screenplay, best actor for the 13-year old Palestinian star Muhammad Gazawi, best supporting actor for Khalifa Natour and best original score.
The Ophir Awards are voted on by the Israeli Academy of Film and Television — which brings together nearly 1,100 filmmakers, producers and actors.
“The Academy congratulates director Shai Carmeli Pollak and producer Baher Agbariya for this powerful and moving work. Israeli cinema once again demonstrates its relevance and ability to respond to complex and painful realities,” said Assaf Amir, the Israeli Film Academy chairman.
“This is a film full of empathy—for all human beings, and especially for its protagonist, a Palestinian child whose only dream is to see the sea,” said Amir, adding that “Israeli cinema, once again, proves itself relevant and responsive to a painful and complex reality.”
Shot in Arabic and Hebrew, “The Sea” is “a sensitive and empathetic film—toward humanity in general, and toward its protagonist in particular, a Palestinian boy whose only wish is to reach the sea,” said Amir.
Also a film producer with credits including “Chazarot” and “Blue Box,” Amir highlighted the symbolic meaning of “The Sea”‘s win amid the war in Gaza and repeated attacks from the Israeli government on the left-leaning film industry, which is also being weakened by boycott calls. Just last week, nearly 4,000 entertainment industry names, including Hollywood stars like Emma Stone and Joaquin Phoenix, signed a petition calling for a boycott of Israeli film institutions “complicit in war crimes” in Gaza. And earlier this week, at the Emmy Awards, Javier Bardem called for a “commercial and diplomatic blockade and sanctions on Israel.”
“In the harsh reality we live in, as the never-ending war in Gaza takes a terrible toll in death and destruction, the ability to see the ‘other,’ even if he is not of your own people, gives me small hop,” he said. “In the face of the Israeli government’s attacks on Israeli cinema and culture, and the calls from parts of the international film community to boycott us, the selection of ‘The Sea’ is a powerful and resounding response.
Amir also applauded the fact that the “The Sea,” like many films produced in Israel, is an “Arabic-language film, born of collaboration between Jewish and Palestinian Israelis.”