The Sea

Source: Shai Goldman

The Sea

Shai Carmeli-Pollak’s The Sea, about a young Palestinian boy from a village near Ramallah who dreams of reaching Tel Aviv to see the sea, won best film at Israel’s Ophir Awards, voted on by the Israeli Academy of Film and Television, on September 16.

The film, shot in Arabic and Hebrew, also won best screenplay, best actor for its 13-year-old Palestinian star Muhammad Gazawi, best supporting actor for Khalifa Natour, and best original score. 

In line with Israeli industry protocol, the winner of the best film prize automatically becomes the country’s Oscar candidate.

The awards ceremony turned into a tense evening that saw award winners take to the stage to openly protest the ongoing war in Gaza.

The Sea’s Palestinian producer Baher Agbariya said: “This is not taken for granted in such dark days when the sounds of war and the noise of weapons try to silence the human voice. This film was born from love for humanity and cinema, and its message is one – the right of every child to live and dream in peace, without siege, without fear, and without war.

“This is a basic right that we will not give up on; we are all equal,” the producer continued. “I dedicate this award to all who believe that equality and peace is not an illusion but a human choice here and now.”

He also thanked the Israeli Film Fund for supporting the film.

Gazawi accepted his award, telling the audience in Arabic: “I wish for all the children of the world, everywhere, to have the same opportunity – to live and dream without wars.” 

Assaf Amir, chairman of the Israeli Film Academy, said in a statement after the ceremony: “Israeli cinema, once again, proves itself relevant and responsive to a painful and complex reality. This is a sensitive and empathetic film – toward humanity in general, and toward its protagonist in particular, a Palestinian boy whose only wish is to reach the sea. Especially in the harsh reality we live in, as the never-ending war in Gaza takes a terrible toll in death and destruction, the ability to see the ‘other’, even if he is not of your own people, gives me small hope.”

He added: “In the face of the Israeli government’s attacks on Israeli cinema and culture, and the calls from parts of the international film community to boycott us, the selection of The Sea is a powerful and resounding response. I am proud that an Arabic-language film, born of collaboration between Jewish and Palestinian Israelis, will represent Israel in the Oscar competition.”

Best supporting actor winner Natour refused to attend the ceremony, instead sending a message that read: “Following the army’s entry into Gaza and the genocide that frightens me greatly, I cannot find words to describe the magnitude of the horror, and everything else becomes secondary to me. Even cinema and theatre.”

The prize for best feature documentary went to Tom Shoval’s “Letter To David,” about the October 7, 2023, hostage David Cunio, which premiered at the Berlinale. Shoval took to the stage holding photos of Cunio and his brother Ariel, who co-starred in Shoval’s film Youth. Both were kidnapped on October 7. Shoval called for an end to the war, adding: “This film remains unfinished, and can only be completed when all the hostages return.”

Angry response

However, according to a report in the English-language Times of Israel, Israeli culture minister Miki Zohar has said he is withdrawing government funding for the Orphir awards following the ceremony, describing the awards for The Sea as “disgraceful”.

“There is no greater slap in the face of Israeli citizens than the embarrassing and detached annual Ophir Awards ceremony,” Zohar said in a statement issued today. “Starting with the 2026 budget, this pathetic ceremony will no longer be funded by taxpayers’ money. Under my watch, Israeli citizens will not pay from their pockets for a ceremony that spits in the faces of our heroic soldiers.”

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