Hagiga — the Story of Israeli Cinema: Ephraim Kishon / Campfire

Screening at JIFF are two episodes of a milestone documentary series about the history of Israeli cinema, featuring hundreds of interviews and a wealth of rare archival footage. The first instalment focuses on Oscar- nominated film director, author and satirist Ephraim Kishon. A Holocaust survivor, Kishon became a celebrated author before moving into filmmaking in the early 1960s, directing such Israeli classic as Sallah Shabati – 1964 (nominated for an Oscar), Blaumilch Canal – 1969 (nominated for a Golden Globe) and The Policeman – 1972 (nominated for an Oscar, and winner of the Golden Globe award for Best Foreign Language Film.

The following instalment focuses on the second half of the nineties, when Israeli cinema almost disappeared as audiences migrated to television viewing. But towards the end of the decade, the Knesset passed the "Cinema Law" increasing  budgets and bringing hope to a new generation of filmmakers such as Nir Bergman (Broken Wings), Eytan Fox (Yossi & Jager) and Joseph Cedar (Campfire). These fresh new films succeed locally and globally and in 2004 the Israeli box office achieved new heights.