Sderot Film Festival Unveils New Fund for Five Local Filmmakers

The 25th Cinema of the South Festival opens November 1 at the Sderot Cinematheque, introducing a new financial vehicle for regional creators. The event runs through November 5 and coincides with the launch of Negba, an incubator designed to support five young filmmakers from the area.

Sapir Academic College founded the festival, and this year's program emphasizes voices from Sderot and the western Negev. The lineup includes works examining the three years since the October 7 Hamas-led massacres. The festival features television premieres, international films, competitions, and musical performances.

Hanan Savyon and Guy Amir open the event to discuss their Netflix series, Bros. The show follows two Beitar Jerusalem fans who run a pub together while facing personal crises. The evening concludes with the world premiere of the first two episodes of the series' second season.

Advance screenings include Motherland, a KAN comedy-drama directed by Yael Hedaya. The film stars Dana Ivgy, Sasson Gabay, and Alma Zack. Audiences will also view Whose Daughter Are You?, a documentary series about Mizrahi women directed by Efrat Shalom Danon and Keren Shayo. The team behind The Pshute, including director Dan Messer, will also appear.

Iris Zaki, who heads the school's master's program, closes the festival with her film What Was She Thinking? The movie addresses the choice to remain childless in Israeli society. The closing ceremony honors editor Nili Feller, a two-time Ophir Award winner, with a screening of four films she edited and a master class.

Returning Sapir graduates present new projects. Efrat Corem shows Heart of Gold, starring Chen Amsalem, Menashe Noy, and Israel Atias. Shir Houri Abu presents the documentary 100 Gates, while Tal Avitan screens Carlos Outside the Lines, a story about a soccer coach in Kiryat Gat. Eight past winning films will also be shown.

Regional shorts include Sketches of the Soul, a collection of five films about life after October 7. Sami Shalom Chetrit premieres My Beloved Gourama, which documents his father's life in Morocco and Israel. Swiss director Thomas Imbach presents two films and leads a master class with the Swiss Embassy.