Israel's Ministry of Culture decides to withdraw funds for 'Israeli Oscars' after a film on Palestine wins top award
&imwidth=600&imheight=450&format=webp&quality=medium "Israel's Ministry of Culture decides to withdraw funds for 'Israeli Oscars' after a film on Palestine wins top award")
The Sea Photograph: (x)
The Sea has been selected as Israel's entry to the Oscars 2026 in the Best International Film category. The film depicts the story of a Palestinian boy who dreams of visiting the sea. The film's success has not gone down well with the country's ministry of culture.
The Israeli Minister of Culture has said funds for the country's film academy and its annual awards will be cut after a movie about a Palestinian boy won big. On Tuesday night in Tel Aviv, the Israeli Academy of Film and Television awarded the 2025 Best Picture award to The Sea at the Ophir Awards, which is often dubbed the Israeli Oscars. The movie centres around a Palestinian boy's dream to visit the sea. The film is directed and written by Shai Carmeli Pollak and produced by Baher Agbariya. The film follows a young boy’s road trip from his home of Ramallah in the occupied West Bank to the coastal city of Tel Aviv.
The Sea is now slated to represent Israel at the Oscars 2026 in the International Feature Film category.
Laurels for The Sea
The Sea also won four other awards, including best actor for 13-year-old Muhammad Ghazawi. He became the youngest actor to win the award. Khalifa Natour, who plays the boy’s father, won best supporting actor.
During the awards ceremony, several filmmakers and nominees called for an end to the war in Gaza. Some criticised the Israeli government.
“This film is about every child’s right to live in peace, a basic right we will not give up on,” Agbariya said. “We are all equal. Peace and equality are not an illusion, but a possible choice here and now.”
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Gaza war discussed at Emmys
The war was widely discussed at this week's Emmy Awards. Several actors including Hannah Einbinder and Javier Bardem called for a ceasefire. Over 1,000 actors and directors have vowed not to work with Israeli film institutions.
Meanwhile, a day after the awards in Isarel, the Israeli Ministry of Culture announced that it would withdraw funding for “the disgraceful ceremony” from next year onwards.
The ministry in a statement, said that the winning film “presents the Palestinian perspective and depicts IDF (Israel Defense Forces) soldiers and the State of Israel in a negative way."
A CNN report stated that the Culture Minister Miki Zohar described the ceremony and the award as an insult to the people of Israel. It is "spit in the face of Israeli citizens. The fact that the winning film depicts our heroic soldiers in a defamatory and false way while they fight and risk their lives to protect us no longer surprises anyone," said Zohar.
