News & Events

Warm congratulations on winning the Jury Award for Best Narrative Feature at the Haifa International Film Festival! 🥂🤩

Here is the jury’s statement:

Eran Kolirin creates a new, intriguing, and inspiring cinematic language that leaves the viewer space to seek the story for themselves. A sequence of surreal images unfolds with creative freedom, full of humor and subtle irony. This film marks another fascinating stop in Kolirin’s bold and absurd journey through the landscapes of Israeli and Jewish identity.

What a day we had today with our Pitching event of the 8 projects that were selected to our Incubator for Documentary Development with AI.

At the end of the event, two outstanding projects were selected to receive a development grant of 20,000 NIS each:

🏆 Daniel Najenson & Elad Asulin – The Golem 2.0 - Awarded a grant by Makor Foundation for Israeli Films

🏆 Tal Shefi & Idan Glikzelig – Re constructing Hanna - Awarded a grant by The Israeli Public Broadcasting Corporation (KAN)

Good luck to all the talented creators & a huge thank-you to all our partners, this wouldn’t have been possible without you!

KAN – The Israeli Public Broadcasting Corporation

The Israeli Documentary Forum

The French Institute – French Embassy in Israel

Postudio

Michal Ben David

Haifa International Film Festival

Pillowz, the new film by Moshe Ben Avraham (Animoshe), opened the TISFF last night and received rave reviews 🤩

And if that’s not enough – this week the Rhode Island International Film Festival announced that the film won the Best Animated Short Award!

A huge congratulations to Moshe ❤️👏🥂

There will be another screening this Sunday, August 24, at 13:45 – don’t miss it!

Admission is free, but seats must be reserved in advance.

Nearly four years ago, Maya Shekel submitted a VR project called Eddie and I - an interactive animated experience about Ron, an 8-year-old deaf boy who’s nervous about his first camping trip. We won't give away any spoilers, but we will say there’s a special character who helps him face his fears, and that you, the users, will also pick up a few basic signs in sign language along the way.

At the end of our annual professional workshop for new media projects 2022, Shekel received a development and production grant. She later presented the project at the co-production market at the NewImages Festival 2023, where it won the prestigious Development Market Prize (competing against 45 other creators!). Shekel didn't stop there, and while producing the experience, she continued to seek additional funding, and presented the project at the Tribeca Film Festival (Creators Market) and the Venice Film Festival (Venice Production Bridge).

And now it’s happening - Eddie and I is complete and will soon have its international premiere at the Venice Biennale, as part of the official international competition for immersive works!

The journey this project has taken is both moving and inspiring. We wish Maya the very best as she continues on with this remarkable work ❤️🥂

We bid farewell to Professor Hillel Nosek, Chair of the Board of the Makor Foundation for Israeli Films, who is concluding his term these days.

Hillel has served as Chair since 2015 and was also a board member since the foundation's establishment in 1996. Throughout the years, he worked tirelessly to promote Israeli cinema, with deep commitment, wisdom, patience, and great professionalism. We thank him wholeheartedly for his invaluable contribution.

Warm congratulations and best wishes to the incoming Chair, Gil Omer, who brings with him extensive experience in leading cultural institutions. We are excited about his appointment and confident that under his leadership, the foundation will continue to uphold its unique path and remain a supportive home for filmmakers and the Israeli film industry.

Special Jury Award - Shooting

Director: Netalie Braun | Producers: Netalie Braun, Tal Barda

Jury's justification: This film is a thought-provoking cinematic essay on the relationship between documentary and war — and its meaning.The filmmaker’s point of view on the behind-the-scenes of documentary filmmaking raises timely ethical questions for us as documentary creators, especially in days like these.With a strong and assured hand, the director orchestrates a masterful work of editing, cinematography, use of archival footage, and research — a film with deep resonance that we believe will stay with us for a long time.

Albi Changemaker Award - The Smugglers | Michel Elrahb

Directors and producers: Toni Copty, Yaniv Berman

Jury's justification: The character we chose at times resembles a kind of Jaffa-based Sisyphus, or maybe Don Quixote, who must obtain, import, or smuggle contemporary Arabic literature against all odds— all while remaining deeply committed to preserving the Palestinian history of Jaffa. You have created a refuge from ill winds and an island of cultural and social optimism.

On Thursday, April 3, 2025, we will hold an open industry day for immersive storytelling (XR), in collaboration with Mifal Hapais - Culture and Arts Council. During the event, we will announce the XR 2025 Open Call for participation in an incubator workshop, and production grants for immersive works. Submission guidelines will be published on Makor Foundation's website in June 2025 and the call for proposals will remain open for submissions for 35 days.

📣 Admission to the industry day is free, but prior registration is required. please see link below.

When and where?

Thursday, April 3, 2025, at the French Institute, Rothschild 7, Tel Aviv, from 13:30 to 19:00.

Schedule:

13:30 | Reception

14:00 | Opening Statements

Amit Goren, CEO & Artistic Director, Makor Foundation | Guillaume Mainguet, Audiovisual and Digital Attaché, French Institute

14:15 | New Media Horizons Delegation – Impressions, Reflections, and the Future

Alona Abt, Co-Founder & CEO, Hop! Media Group | Maya Shekel, XR Producer & Creator

14:45 | Keynote – The State of New Media

Michele Ziegler, Director of NewImages Hub & Chief Digital Officer | Cultural industries | Creative technologies | Events | Innovation |at Forum des Images

15:15 | Presentation of grant awarded projects - I See You XR 06-2024 Open Call

Nir Saar, Artistic Director, Makor Media Lab | Emi Sfard and Irena Bauman (Dream of Belonging) | Yael Danon and Itamar Levi (Ilana) | Tal Stadler and Udi Katzman (Accidents) | Chani Kopilowitz and Miriam Cohen (Tiger’s Mom)

16:30 | Break

17:00 | New Media Production – Challenges, Focus, and the Future

Fred Volhuer – Co-Founder // Ground Control // CEO @ Atlas V Group

17:30 | Presentation of the new XR 2025 Open Call for Proposals for Immersive Works (XR)

Amit Goren, CEO & Artistic Director, Makor Foundation for Israeli Films | Gili Gaon, Head of Documentary & Investigative Department, Kan 11

18:00 | Cocktail Reception on the Institute’s Rooftop & VR Experiences

*The Industry Day will be conducted in English.

For inquiries, please contact Vicki Cohen, Director of Content and Community Relations, Makor Foundation: vicki@kerenmakor.org.il

See you there!

On February 9, the Ministry of Culture and Sports published the new funding allocation criteria for cinema. We are working on updating the foundation's regulations and the submission procedures and awaiting final decisions on certain funding provisions.

Registration for films and immersive projects to be selected for the 82^ndVenice International Film Festival of La Biennale di Venezia is now open.

Congratulations to the four projects selected in our I See You XR Incubator Workshop, designed with The Israel Lottery Council for Culture & Arts, to help the teams to develop their immersive projects in new media, focusing on trauma and resilience. Eight talented teams participated, and four of them will receive development and production grants:

Dream of Belonging | Emi Sfard and Irena Bauman

Ilana | Yael Danon and Itamar Levi

Accidents | Tal Stadler and Udi Katzman

Tiger’s Mom | Chani Kopilowitz and Miriam Cohen

Good luck ❤️ 💪 💫

And of course, a huge thank you to our wonderful partners throughout this journey: The Israel Lottery Council for Culture & Arts – Mifal HaPais, the French Institute – The French Embassy in Israel, Goethe Institute, NewImages Hub and Forum des Images, The School of Psychology – Reichman University, Dorit Hakim Kramer and Lee Shira – Siena Film Foundation.

You’re welcome to read all about New Media Horizons – the Israeli delegation that traveled to Paris to learn everything there is to know about new media 🇫🇷😍

Take a breath – this won’t be short, but we’ve got lots of exciting updates to share!

Last Thursday our XR Workshop came to an end. Eight teams took part in it after submitting their projects in response to our Open Call for works in new media exploring trauma and resilience. The workshop aimed at refining the proposals through a comprehensive mentorship process with a variety of professionals: Ellen Kuo, Head of the XR Market at the NewImages Festival; Sonka Kirchhof, a leading German creator and producer in new media; Maya Shekel, a director, designer, and XR creator; and Nir Sa’ar, filmmaker, XR creator, and Artistic Director at Makor Media Lab.

Dr. Anat Brunstein Klomek, Dean of the School of Psychology at Reichman University, led a fascinating two-hour session that equipped the teams with key insights into crafting narrative works about trauma and resilience. Following her was Lior Nesher, a screenwriter and script editor, who guided – and will continue guiding – the teams in sharpening and refining their stories in the coming weeks ahead of the final submissions. We were also fortunate to have a masterclass by Pedro Harres, an award-winning XR creator and director of From the Main Square (highly recommended!); Alona Abt, from Hop! Media Group, who discussed impact and partnership building; Adam Weingrod, a filmmaker and XR creator whose latest work, Spots of Light, won the Smart Award at the recent FIPADOC festival and continues to shine on prominent stages worldwide; and Gili Gaon, who conceived the idea for this Open Call and whose involvement lends a better understanding of the media landscape.

As part of the workshop, we held an open industry day about the expanding uses of Unreal Engine for creating 3D environments in film, TV, and new media. Led by Arie Croitoru and Michal Ben-David, and featuring groundbreaking creators: Yoni Geva, Assaf Lapid, Adam Horowitz, Alon Saranga, and Daniel Shamota (all the talks will be posted soon – stay tuned!)

For the first time in the XR Workshop we arranged for a VR viewing room fro creators and staff! This allowed the teams to explore a wide range of international and local VR creations from recent years (some of which we were supported by Makor Media).

To conclude, we thank our amazing partners, without whom none of this would have been possible: Mifal Hapais – Israel Lottery Council for Culture and Arts, The French Institute – The French Embassy in Israel, Goethe Institute, The Advanced Reality Lab (ARL) and the School of Psychology at Reichman University, and NewImages Hub – Forum des Images, Paris.

Good luck to all the teams in their final submissions!

We are pleased to announce that "ANU – Museum of the Jewish People" will be hosting a selection of shorts from the "2 Minutes | Taking Pulse" project, for a month at the Marty and Aviva Pazner Media Pavilion.

As you may recall, A few weeks after the Israel-Hamas War broke out, Makor Foundation for Israeli Films published an open call inviting filmmakers to submit completed short-shorts addressing the situation from a personal perspective, in all its facets. It was, in fact, a creative pulse check. Ultimately, 33 films were selected from dozens of submissions and received production grants from the Foundation, with the support of Alona Abt and Tamir Paul.

On Friday, September 27th, between 10:00-12:00, the museum will host an extended gallery talk on the exhibition "October 7th." As part of the event, the project will be presented, and filmmakers Tehila Lapidot and Yuval Nitzan will speak about their shorts.

Here is a list of the films in the collection: A Different Time - Yuval Nitzan | Knock Knock - Noam Karmeli, Shiran Buchnik | Paper Butterflies - Neta Shenitzer | War Before Bedtime - Tehila Lapidot | Tunnel Vision - Rani Avidan | Half Mast - Yoni Goodman | Home Front - Oz Zirlin | The List - Mooly Landsman | Breakfast - Nitsan Cohen | Left Behind - Omer Harel | Boar - Ron Justus-Segal | Bonding | Gal Salomon, Alon Galil | Summer, Rain | Omer Rosenberg | Propaganda - Idan Zarmon, Eden Akshoti | Where is home? - Eitan Herman | A Letter to a Man - Amit Erell | Hope - Omer Barak | Illusion of Motion - Yael Bonne.

Good luck to all the creators and producers ❤️

Last week the NewImages Festival, a major international venue for XR creators, took place in Paris, and it was a pleasure to participate in it with our 4 Climate Crisis projects teams.

There were excellent lectures, a showcase of breathtaking and innovative XR experiences and an opportunity for the creator’s teams to meet with XR industry professionals, to network and secure additional funding for their projects. In the link below we put some snapshots, but you really should have been there...

We’d like to wish the teams luck and success on their journey ❤

Our gratitude to our wonderful partners: NewImages Hub – Forum des Images: Michel Zigler, Ellen Kuo, Manon Blot and their team, Mifal Hapais - Israel Lottery Council for Culture & Arts: Dolin Melnik, Noa Bachar, Rafael Balulu, The French Institute – Israel and The French Embassy – Israel: Guillaume Mainguet, Goethe Institute: Carola Duerr, School of Sustainability: Prof. Yoav Yair and Advanced Reality Lab (ARL): Prof. Doron Friedman at Reichman University.

This is it. Our Climate Crisis XR Workshop has come to an end.

As we've mentioned previously, this year's Workshop took place in a hybrid format due to the terrible disaster that occurred on October 7th. 

Eight talented teams participated in the workshop over the past few weeks, and at its conclusion, 4 projects were selected to receive development and production grants totaling 100,000 NIS each:

The Burner Boys – Nofar Laor and Ronny Daniel

The Last Bee – Yair Bartal and Shaked Orenstein

The Climate Diplomat – Roy Kimhi and Jonathan Manevich

Dead Sea Elegy – Shiri Blumenthal and Eviatar Moncaz

We congratulate them and wish them great success in the further development and production of their wonderful and captivating creations. All of this was made possible with the passion and commitment of our wonderful partners: Mifal Hapais - Israel Lottery Council for Culture & Arts, The French Institute – Israel and The French Embassy – Israel, Goethe Institute, NewImages Hub – Forum des Images, School of Sustainability and Advanced Reality Lab (ARL) - Reichman University.

Ran Tal | 1341 Frames of Love and War - Award for Best Full-Length Documentary, and recipient of a Development Grant from HOT and Makor Foundation.

Henya Brodbeker | The Three of Us - Award for Best Debut Film

Efim Graboy | Lies I Told Myself - Award for Best Cinematography

Noa Haber | 1341 Frames of Love and War - Award for Artistic Design

We were truly excited!

 Dear creators, we welcome you to join our XR Industry Open Day at the French Institute on Monday, February 5th.

Admission is free, advanced registration is required.

We are thrilled beyond words. What an honorable achievement.

Kudos to Adam Weingrod and the production teams in Israel and Canada for taking part in this journey of this beautiful experience.

Have a look at the Jury Statement:

The Smart Jury unanimously decided to award 'Spots of Life' the Best Film prize in the Smart category. This VR masterpiece dives into the destiny of Dan Layani, a solider who lost his sight in war. Unimaginable in a traditional format, imparting a powerful life lesson, ‘Spots of Light' has illuminated Biarritz Immersive with its profound storytelling, reminding us that courage and hope can indeed be found even in the darkest corners.

In the midst of full darkness, it reaffirms that one can always find his/her light.

It finally happened! A first physical meeting in our hybrid XR Climate Crisis Workshop at the French Institute. We took off with Kobi Gur, who shared with us the essentials about 360° photography, and then we stepped outside to practice and feel how this works and it was fascinating.

Later on, Prof. Yoav Yair, our favourite climate expert and head of the Climate Risk Management track at the School of Sustainability, Reichman University, consulted with the 8 participating creative teams about their projects. That lecture\conversation he delivered was wonderful, both depressing and optimistic (who would have thought that such a mix is possible). Finally, we met all four international mentors again for their professional Show and Tell, and learned about production, marketing and about the various ways immersive narrative creations affect audiences.    

On October 6th we were still dealing with preparations for the Climate Crisis XR Workshop, scheduled to take place in November. This was after we published an Open Call for new media immersive experiences last summer and received over thirty submissions. From those, we selected 8 original and fascinating projects.

Three months have passed since then, and as you know, everything has changed. Alongside the constant immense fear, anger and sadness, we found ways to continue promoting cinematic activity and creation. And yes, we are also happy to announce that the Workshop has set off. We transitioned to a Hybrid Workshop model and launched it last week. 

All of this wouldn't have happened without our wonderful partners: The French Institute – Israel, The French Embassy – Israel, Goethe Institute, Mifal Hapais - Israel Lottery Council for Culture & Arts, NewImages Hub – Forum des Images, School of Sustainability and Advanced Reality Lab (ARL) - Reichman University.

The four mentors guiding the 8 projects' creators are: Michelle Feuerlicht, an experienced XR creator from London, Ellen Kuo, director of the XR market at the NewImages festival, Sonke Kirchhoff, director of INVR.SPACE, and Reallifefilms, creator and vice president of XR4EUROPE, and our fourth mentor, who is also the artistic director at Makor Media Lab and an experienced XR creator - Nir Sa'ar.

We are also expecting fascinating meetings with excellent lecturers from Israel and from abroad, who will talk about the development, production, fundraising and distribution of XR immersive creations. 

We will continue to update here so stay tuned.

For an Honorable Mention at the Jerusalem Women Film Festival, 2023

Many excellent short films at JWFF this week 🌸

Wonderful documentaries at JWFF this week – local screenings and online streaming – open to all!

Congratulations, David Tauber and Noa Gusakov ❤️

The French Institute and Makor Foundation for Israeli Films are happy to invite you to a screening of short animated films. After the screening, we invite you to participate in an open discussion with the creators.

Apart (Director: Oved Poran | 11 minutes) | Your Bad Animals (Directors: Ido Shapira & Amit Cohen, 11 minutes) | We Were a Sterile Bomb (Director: Dotan Moreno, 15 minutes) | Maurice's Bar (Directors: Tom Perzman & Tzur Adri, 15 minutes).

Tuesday evening, December 26^th, 19:30, at the French Institute, Rothschild Blvd. 7, Tel Aviv.

Admission is free, advanced registration is required.

The French Institute and Makor Foundation for Israeli Films are happy to invite you to a screening of short fiction films. After the screening, we invite you to participate in an open discussion with the creators.

Veil (Director: Orit Fouks Rotem, 21 minutes) | Revived (Director: Uriya Hertz, 16 minutes) | Full of light (Director: Rona Segal, 12 minutes) | Butterflies (Director: Yona Rozenkier, 8 minutes).

Tuesday evening, December 19^th, 19:30, at the French Institute, Rothschild Blvd. 7, Tel Aviv.

Admission is free, advanced registration is required.

Due to the current events, we decided to postpone the Climate Crisis XR Workshop that was scheduled for November. A new date will be announced as soon as possible.

Our hearts go out to all the victims of the war and their relatives ❤️

One Last Wish, her beautiful film, Based on "What, Of this Goldfish, Would You Wish?" by Etgar Keret, won two important awards! What an honor 💐💐💐

Fibak won the The Israeli Academy of Film and Television Ophir Prize for Best Documentary Film (max. 60 minutes).

We are proud to have supported this courageous and important film and congratulate Nur and her team!

Photo credit: Yaeli Gabrieli

Thanks to the fabulous Animix team - Ben, Hani, Yael and Galit, for a wonderful collaboration, and an unforgettable speed-dating event. To Nir Berger for a great MasterClass on how to write a script for animation movies and series, and to Hila Gavron who enriched us with important and useful information about Kan Digital.

See you next year 😊

What an honor!

who won 4 (!) awards at the Jerusalem Film Festival 2023

The Three of Us (Henya Brodbeker/ Pardes Productions) won the Diamond Award for Best Documentary, Best Director & Best Editing.
The Return from the Other Planet (Jonathan Avrahami & Assaf Lapid/ Blackship Productions) won the Aliza & Micha Shagrir Award for Best Documentary Research.
What a huge honor!