The biggest and brightest stars of the Israeli entertainment industry will come out this week as the Israeli Film and Television Academy holds its annual Ophir awards ceremony. The coveted statuettes will be awarded Thursday evening at the Krieger Center for the Performing Arts in Haifa. Marking its 22nd year, the ceremony will be broadcast September 30 on Israel's Channel 2. This year, the competition includes 26 feature films and 47 documentary films that will face off in 15 different categories, including Best Director, Best Production, Best Screenplay, Best Cinematography, Best Editing, Best Costume Design, Best Sountrack and Best Feature Film of the Year. The winner of this final category will become Israel's official submission for a nomination for the 2012 American Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences awards in the category of Best Foreign Language Film. The frontrunner for best film is Joseph Cedar's critically acclaimed "Footnote," which won the best screenplay award at this year's Cannes Film Festival. Garnering 13 nominations, the most of any film in the competition, "Footnote" is expected to sweep the awards. The film is a family drama about a father and son who are both Talmudic scholars at the Hebrew University. It stars legendary Israeli comedic actor Shlomo Bar-Aba as the father and Lior Ashkenazi, of "Walk on Water" fame, as his son. Sony Pictures purchased the film for distribution in the U.S. when it was screened at Cannes, which will likely make American audiences more familiar with it. Cedar himself is a veteran Oscar competitor, having previously competed in 2008 with his war film "Beaufort." Diretor Yossi Madmony's "Restoration," which garnered 11 nominations, is considered to be the major competitor to "Footnote." The film is an intense family drama starring Sasson Gabai and Nevo Kimhi. Madmony's film has won much international acclaim, picking up the best screenplay award at the Sundance Film Festival, and best feature film prizes at both the Karlovy Vary International Film Festival and at the Jerusalem Film Festival. Another prominent candidate in the race for best feature film at the ceremony is Marco Carmel's drama "My Lovely Sister," starring prominent Israeli actor Moshe Ivgy. The film was released last week and has also racked up 11 award nominations. Cedar is widely favored to win in the best director category, but a young director named Nadav Lapid is nevertheless making it a tight race. Lapid's feature film debut "Policeman" follows an unconventional narrative and deals with class conflict. The film has been widely acclaimed, earning a special jury prize at the Swiss Locarno Film Festival, where it competed against 19 other international films. The fifth film in competition for Best Feature Film is Maya Koenig's relatively unknown "Momentary Guests," which chronicles the fragile relationship of a father and daughter on the eve of the Second Lebanon War. Despite a lack of publicity, the film has still managed to obtain recognition by the academy.
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