Sderot Film Festival Schedules 25 Screenings and Premieres for Anniversary Week

The Sderot Cinematheque will host 25 days of programming during its 25th anniversary edition, scheduled from November 1 to 5. The Cinema of the South Festival, founded by the School of Audio and Visual Arts at Sapir Academic College, centers this year's schedule on the local film community and the region's experience since October 2023.

The opening evening on November 1 will feature a discussion with Hanan Savyon and Guy Amir, the creators of the Netflix series "Bros." The event will conclude with the world premiere of the first two episodes of the show's second season. The series follows two childhood friends and Beitar Jerusalem fans who operate a pub in Jerusalem while navigating personal crises.

The program includes advance screenings of several KAN productions. These include "Motherland," a comedy-drama directed by Yael Hedaya and starring Dana Ivgy, Sasson Gabay, and Alma Zack. Audiences will also see "Whose Daughter Are You?" a documentary series about Mizrahi women directed by Efrat Shalom Danon and Keren Shayo. A separate session will host the team behind the popular series "The Pshute," including director Dan Messer.

The festival will close with a preview of "What Was She Thinking?" directed by Iris Zaki, who heads the school's master's degree program. The film explores the choice not to have children in Israeli society. The closing ceremony will also honor editor Nili Feller, a two-time Ophir Award winner, through a tribute featuring four films she edited, a master class, and meetings with filmmakers such as Ari Folman and Dani Rosenberg.

Sapir College graduates will present new work during the event. Efrat Corem will screen "Heart of Gold," while Shir Houri Abu presents the documentary "100 Gates." Sderot filmmaker Tal Avitan will show "Carlos Outside the Lines," a film about a children's soccer coach in Kiryat Gat. The schedule also includes eight winning films from previous festival editions and a collection of five shorts titled "Sketches of the Soul," which examines life in the western Negev after October 7.

Swiss director Thomas Imbach will present two films and lead a master class in cooperation with the Swiss Embassy. The event will also host the premiere of "My Beloved Gourama" by Sami Shalom Chetrit, a film about his father's life in Morocco and Israel. The closing ceremony will officially launch Negba, a new incubator for young filmmakers from the south.

The festival was established by the School of Audio and Visual Arts at Sapir Academic College. This edition spotlights creators from Sderot and the western Negev, including those whose work addresses the three years since the October 7 Hamas-led massacres in Israel.