For the first time in seven years, an Israeli film will be competing at the Berlin Film Festival, which opens on Feb. 7.
"Synonyms," by Nadav Lapid – an Israeli-French-German production – is about an Israeli man who moves to Paris to try and shed his Israeli identity. The film will make its international premiere at the festival and will compete with 16 other films for the festival's coveted Silver Bear and Golden Bear awards.
The last Israeli film to compete officially at the Berlin Film Festival was Jonathan Segel's "Lipstikka," in 2012. The last Israeli film to win a prize at the festival, considered one of the world's most prestigious, was "Beaufort" by Joseph Cedar, which won the Silver Bear Award for Best Director in 2007.
Other Israeli works that will be shown at the festival but will not compete include "The Operative," by Yuval Adler, another international coproduction based on the Israeli novel "The English Teacher"; "The Day After I'm Gone" by Nimrod Eldar; "Apple of My Eye" by Yaron Shani; and Guy Nattiv's English-language film "Skin." Nattiv's short film by the same name has been nominated for an Oscar in the documentary (short subject) category.
