The winner of Israel’s Oscars, the Ophir Awards, automatically goes on to become the country’s Oscar submission for Best International Feature. This year, that film is Let It Be Morning, which made headlines at Cannes because its Palestinian cast refused to attend, objecting to it being labeled an Israeli film. Those who have seen the film will surely appreciate that this attitude is expected and and very much in the spirit of the film’s content. I had the chance to speak with the film's Israeli director, Eran Kolirin (pictured left) who is best known for writing and directing The Band’s Visit. His new film premieres this week in New York City at the Other Israel Film Festival…
If nominated this year, Let It Be Morning would be the eleventh film to represent Israel in the Best International Feature category at the Oscars. Twice in its history, Israel has earned three consecutive nominations, though its most recent bid was ten years back for the delightfully clever Footnote. Famously, long before it was a Tony Award-winning show on Broadway, The Band’s Visit was disqualified following its Ophir victory because it contained too much English, and Beaufort was selected to replace it, earning a nomination, but in the end losing to Austria's The Counterfeiters. The last Israeli film to make the finals was Foxtrot in 2017, and an Ophir runner-up in 2019, Tel Aviv on Fire, was ultimately submitted by Luxembourg as its official selection but failed to get nominated.
I found Let It Be Morning to be a very powerful and strong film, and getting to hear from Kolirin about the film’s inception, themes, and cooperative spirit only enhanced the experience. Watch the full conversation below:
Let It Be Morning is screening at the Marlene Meyerson JCC Manhattan on Thursday, November 4th. Get tickets and learn more about the Other Israel Film Festival here.