Katriel Schory, former long-time head of the Israel Film Fund, has received a lifetime achievement award from the Israel Academy of Film and Television.
Schory was presented with the award at a special event on August 27, ahead of the Ophir Awards ceremony on September 10 – the main ceremony for the Israeli Academy.
“Israeli cinema would not look the same without Katriel Schory,” read a statement from the Academy, which selected the executive for the award “for his work and public achievements over the past 30 years, with great respect and endless appreciation.”
Schory was head of the Israel Film Fund from 1998 to 2019, during which time the Fund backed over 300 films including Talya Levie’s Zero Motivation, Scandar Copti and Yaron Shani’s Ajami and Ari Folman’s Oscar-nominated Waltz With Bashir.
He previously founded production company Balfilms with his wife Naomi Schory in 1984, producing over 100 TV shows, documentaries and feature films. Katriel Schory was also chairman of the Israeli Producers Guild in the late 1980s and 1990s, where he was one of the leaders of the New Cinema law that promoted a quota of original productions on Israeli broadcasting channels.
Still a regular on the festival circuit, Schory has previously received awards from Berlin, Jerusalem and Telluride film festivals, as well as the World Association of Producers PIAFP and the French government.
The nominations for the 2023 Ophir Awards were announced last month, with Ayelet Menahemi’s Seven Blessings leading the pack with 12 nominations.
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