Thursday | 18th September 2025
Israel’s culture minister has ignited a fierce controversy after vowing to strip funding from the country’s film academy and its prestigious annual awards show, following the success of a Palestinian-themed film that captured Israel’s top cinematic honor.
On Tuesday night in Tel Aviv, the Israeli Academy of Film and Television announced The Sea as the winner of the 2025 Best Picture award at the Ophir Awards, widely regarded as the “Israeli Oscars.” Directed and written by Shai Carmeli Pollak and produced by Baher Agbariya, the film tells the story of a Palestinian boy from Ramallah who dreams of reaching the Mediterranean coast. The narrative follows his road trip from the occupied West Bank to Tel Aviv, where his simple longing to see the sea becomes a metaphor for freedom and dignity.
The recognition means The Sea will go on to represent Israel in the International Feature Film category at the Academy Awards. In addition to Best Picture, the film picked up four other major awards. Thirteen-year-old Muhammad Ghazawi won Best Actor, becoming the youngest recipient in the Ophir Awards’ history. Veteran actor Khalifa Natour received Best Supporting Actor for his portrayal of the boy’s father.
The ceremony itself was charged with political overtones. Several filmmakers used their time on stage to call for an immediate end to the ongoing war in Gaza, while others sharply criticized the Israeli government’s policies. Producer Baher Agbariya emphasized the universal human message behind the film:
“This film is about every child’s right to live in peace, a basic right we will not give up on. We are all equal. Peace and equality are not an illusion, but a possible choice here and now.”
Carmeli Pollak, the director, declined to offer public remarks after the win.
The timing of the award amplified tensions. At the recent Emmy Awards in Los Angeles, several Hollywood stars, including Hannah Einbinder and Javier Bardem, used the stage to demand a ceasefire in Gaza. Meanwhile, over 1,000 actors, screenwriters, and directors worldwide have signed a pledge to boycott Israeli film institutions. British screenwriter David Farr, best known for The Night Manager, explained his stance by citing his own family history:
“As the descendant of Holocaust survivors, I am distressed and enraged by the actions of the Israeli state, which has for decades enforced an apartheid system on the Palestinian people whose land they have taken, and which is now perpetuating genocide and ethnic cleansing in Gaza.”
The backlash inside Israel was swift. The day after the ceremony, the Ministry of Culture announced it would pull state support for the Israeli Film Academy beginning in 2026. A ministry statement condemned the event as a “disgraceful ceremony,” claiming the winning film unfairly “depicts IDF soldiers and the State of Israel in a negative way.”
Culture Minister Miki Zohar escalated further, describing the Ophir Awards as “a spit in the face of Israeli citizens.” He accused the film of slandering “our heroic soldiers who fight and risk their lives to protect us.” Later on Wednesday, Zohar unveiled plans for a government-sponsored rival ceremony called the “Israeli State Oscar,” which would honor films that “reflect the nation’s values and spirit” rather than, in his words, “foreign, disconnected narratives against Israel and the IDF.”
In response, the Israeli Film Academy defended its independence, stressing that its awards are decided by members—filmmakers, cultural figures, and artists—based solely on cinematic merit. Academy chairman Assaf Amir highlighted the significance of The Sea as a collaborative project between Jewish and Palestinian creators:
“I am proud that an Arabic-language film, the fruit of cooperation between Jewish Israelis and Palestinians, is representing Israel at the Academy Awards. Israeli cinema proves once again that it is relevant and responsive to a complex and painful reality. This is a sensitive and empathetic film about human beings in general, and about its protagonist in particular—a Palestinian child whose only wish is to reach the sea.”
Legal experts quickly challenged Zohar’s threats, noting that the culture minister lacks the legal authority to withhold the film academy’s budget. Oded Feller, legal adviser to the Association for Civil Rights in Israel, called the announcement an “empty threat,” stressing:
“The ministry’s budget does not belong to his mother, and he is not empowered to interfere with cultural content or the professional judgment of those who select the films.”
This is not the first time Zohar has clashed with filmmakers. In 2024, the Oscar-winning documentary No Other Land, co-directed by Palestinian journalist Basel Adra and Israeli filmmaker Yuval Abraham, drew fury from the government. The film chronicled the plight of Palestinians in Masafer Yatta, a West Bank village facing eviction by Israeli forces. Accepting the award, Adra called for global action to end decades of injustice, while Abraham urged an end to the destruction in Gaza and demanded freedom for Israeli hostages. Zohar denounced their speeches as “sabotage” and branded the win a “regrettable moment for the cinematic world.”
Now, with The Sea at the center of the storm, the divide between Israel’s government and its film community appears deeper than ever—raising questions about the future of artistic freedom in a nation where cinema has long reflected both the aspirations and the fractures of its society.
