A group of Israeli film-makers, led by veteran producer Marek Rozenbaum and Rennen Schor, head of the Sam Spiegel Film School in Jerusalem, have launched a lobby group to secure more public funding for Israeli features.

Prompted by the success of a similar campaign to increase funding for Israeli documentaries, the feature film lobby group has drafted a declaration, stressing the importance of movie fiction as the most representative of Israeli art forms. The group is temporarily operating from the offices of the Israeli Film Fund.

Meanwhile, in one of its last acts before heading back into its electoral campaign, the Israeli government finally transferred $2m from the still-to-be-determined sum it owes the industry for the year 2000. It remains unclear whether any further funding will be released before the next elections, due to take place in May or June next year.