Israel's film and television stars glittered Thursday night at the 22nd annual Ophir Awards at the Krieger Center for the Performing Arts in Haifa. The awards, under the auspices of the Israeli Film and Television Academy, are Israel's equivalent of the Oscars, honoring the biggest and brightest stars of the Israeli entertainment industry. The evening's undisputed winner was Joseph Cedar's film "Footnote," which took home nine awards, including Best Feature Film of the Year. By taking the night's biggest prize, "Footnote" now becomes Israel's official submission for a nomination to the American Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences for the 2012 Oscar for Best Foreign Language Film. Cedar's film is a family drama about a father and son who are both Talmudic scholars at the Hebrew University. Cedar is a veteran Oscar competitor, having previously been nominated in 2008 with his war film "Beaufort." At last night's Ophirs, Cedar also won the award for Best Director and Best Screenplay. Shlomo Bar-Aba won Best Actor for his role as the father in the film and Lior Ashkenazi, of "Walk on Water" fame, won Best Supporting Actor for his role as the son. "I am just peeing in my pants," Bar-Aba said on stage as he accepted his award. In what was perhaps a veiled reference to the film's major conflict - both father and son desperately desire the recognition of Israel's prestigious Israel Prize - he also said, "It is embarrassing how much we lack confidence and really need these prizes." Other prizes for "Footnote" went to Yaron Sharaf, for Best Cinematography; Arad Shawat for Best Art Direction; Tolly Chen, Alex Klod and Yisrael David for Best Soundtrack and Einat Glazer-Zarchan for Best Editing. Evelin Hagoel was awarded Best Actress for her role in the film "My Lovely Sister." She accepted her prize in a shaking voice, dedicating it to her partner Amos Lavi, a well-known actor who died in Nov. 2010, saying "We miss you so much [Amos]. Thank you for living among us." He co-star Reymond Amsalem was honored as Best Supporting Actress for her role in "My Lovely Sister." Avi Balally won the award for Best Original Music for the film "Good Morning Mr. Fiedelman" and Best Costume Design went to Rona Doron for "In the Fifth Heaven." Best Makeup went to Etty Ben-Gon for the film "Rabies," and Best Documentary was awarded to Amnon Goldfinger for his film "The Apartment." A special Lifetime Achievement Award was presented to producer Yitzhak Shani, an important figure in the Israeli film industry. A Professional Achievement Award went to Zion Abramovich, who produced many films and television series.
And the Israeli Oscar goes to... Joseph Cedar
Cedar's film "Footnote," took home 9 prizes at the Israeli version of the Oscars, including Best Feature Film of the year • Other awards to "Footnote" include Best Actor, Best Supporting Actor and Best Cinematography.
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