👀 Members of the Academy? Then you’ve come to the right place.
The Makor Foundation is happy to recommend a selection of outstanding films currently competing in the first round of the 2026 Ophir Awards 🎬
👉 Feature Documentary
Daytrip | Roni Aboulafia, Ananey Studio
Things Were Like That | Adi Arbel, Kastina Communications
Looking for Yadida | Israela Shaer Meoded, Pardes Films
Sarah | Shir Hori-Abu, Deux Beaux Garçons Films
Malachi | Ido Bahat & Noam Demsky, Demsky Bahat Productions
👉 Short Documentary
Ahmed Is a Movie Star | Doron Djerassi, Pardes Films
Come What May | Ino Barel & Sahaya Villaluz, Bona Productions
👉 Short Animation
In Pigeons Blood | Hod Adler & Chaya Moshayev, Lev Orlov Films
Let There Be Light | Tamar Eckhaus, Lev Orlov Films
Pillowz | Animoshe
As usual, full information and viewing links are available through your personal area on the Academy website, where you’ll also find the screening schedule. Screenings will resume, of course, as soon as circumstances allow. 🙏
Enjoy the films, and wishing everyone a peaceful week ahead.
Three things you can do during Shavuot: Eat cake, Visit the DocAviv website, browse the program, and discover the films screening at this year’s festival, and Hurry and get your tickets before they sell out…
Here are our recommendations this year 😊
Arts & Culture:
Things Were Like That (Directed by Adi Arbel | Produced by Kastina Communications)
Panorama Section:
La’Isha – the Story of a Women’s Magazine (A film by Orit Merlin Rozhenzwaig and Anna Somershaf | Produced by Trabelsi Productions)
Shorts Competition:
Come What May (Directed by Ino Barel and Sahaya Villaluz | Produced by Bona Productions)
Ram Loevy Retrospective:
Ahmed Is a Movie Star (Directed by Doron Djerassi | Produced by Pardes Films)
Short Documentary Collection:
Soul Traces (Directed by Rani Bleier | Produced by Metaphor Ltd | Creators: Ella Hadar Lilian, Guy Gabriel Bavel, Gal Rochwerger, Jonathan Dumosc, Shai Baskin)
Warm congratulations to all the filmmakers, and happy Shavuot!
Despite everything that’s been happening here in our war ridden region, we are happy to share that five Israeli immersive projects participated last week at NewImages Hub in Paris, a leading market and festival for immersive storytelling.
👏 Representatives of the three teams, recipients of Makor Media Lab’s funding grants and participants in our latest XR incubator workshop, met with industry professionals, built new connections and sought out co-production partners. The projects are: A Pirate’s Portrait – Amit Gicelter, Liron Narunsky | Andaloussia – Nimrod Shanit, Oury Atlan | Shbka – Ori Zeiger, Noam Karutchi.
👏 Nofar Laor, the creator of The Burner Boys, a project developed on our XR workshop three years ago, was also looking for additional funding and met with industry professionals.
👏 Two completed projects produced with the support of Makor Media Lab, were selected for the Distribution Market, they are: Eddie and I – Maya Shekel | Echoes of the Jordan – Roy Kimhi.
Good luck to them and once again a big Thank You to our partners this year: Israel Lottery Council for Culture and the Arts – Mifal HaPais, The French Institute in Israel – The French Embassy in Israel, Kan – Israeli Public Broadcasting Corporation, NewImages Festival, Anu – Museum of the Jewish People, Alma Films.
The Makor Foundation supports the independent Israeli
production of documentary films, narrative shorts,
animated shorts, and works created with new
technologies for current and developing medias.
The Foundation provides its support without bias and
irrespective of religious affiliation, race, gender, and
ethnic background, with the goal of engaging
the filmmakers’ full abilities to produce innovative,
ground-breaking, thought-provoking, and
consciousness-raising cinema.