Sderot Film Festival Unveils 25th Year Program and New Incubator

The Cinema of the South Festival begins its 25th anniversary season at the Sderot Cinematheque on November 1. The five day event runs through November 5. It will launch a new incubator for young filmmakers from the south.

Organized by the School of Audio and Visual Arts at Sapir Academic College, the program centers on creators from Sderot and the western Negev. Several works examine life in the three years following the October 7 Hamas led massacres. The opening evening features Hanan Savyon and Guy Amir discussing their Netflix series Bros. The stage event precedes the world premiere of the first two episodes of the show s second season. The series follows two Beitar Jerusalem fans who run a pub in the city while facing personal crises.

Advance screenings include Motherland, a KAN comedy drama by Yael Hedaya. The cast includes Dana Ivgy, Sasson Gabay, and Alma Zack. Audiences will also view Whose Daughter Are You?, a KAN documentary series directed by Efrat Shalom Danon and Keren Shayo. Produced by Osnat Trabelsi, the series profiles Mizrahi women in Israel. A separate session hosts the team behind The Pshute. Director Dan Messer and creators Bar Elmaliach Donzov, Chen Rotman, and Oshrit Sarusi will participate.

Sapir graduates return to 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. Tal Avitan, a filmmaker from Sderot, shows Carlos Outside the Lines. This film focuses on a children s soccer coach in Kiryat Gat. Eight winning films from previous festival editions will also be screened.

Regional programming includes Sketches of the Soul, a collection of five shorts by western Negev filmmakers. The pieces address life after October 7. Sami Shalom Chetrit will premiere 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 festival closes with a preview of Iris Zaki s film What Was She Thinking?. The movie explores the choice not to have children in Israeli society. Zaki heads the school s master s degree program. The closing film pays tribute to editor Nili Feller, a two time Ophir Award winner. The tribute includes four films she edited, a master class, and meetings with filmmakers including Ari Folman and Dani Rosenberg.

The Negba incubator launches at the closing ceremony. It is designed for young filmmakers from the southern region. More information is available on the festival s page on the Sapir Academic College website.