The dramatic film "Let It Be Morning" will be Israel's official submission to next year's Academy Awards after winning Best Picture at the Ophir Awards in Tel Aviv on Tuesday night.
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The winner of the Ophir Awards is automatically selected as Israel's entry for the Oscars in the international feature category.
"Let it Be Morning," directed by Eran Kolirin and based on an eponymous novel by Palestinian writer Sayed Kashua, won a total of seven awards, including best director and screenplay. Stars Alex Bakri and Juna Suleiman took home awards for best actor and actress, respectively.
Kolirin's 2007 film "The Band's Visit" also won best picture at the Ophir Awards, but was disqualified from competing in that year's Academy Awards because more than half of the dialogue was in English. Instead, the Academy chose Joseph Cedar's "Beaufort" to represent Israel that year and it received an Oscar nomination.
This year's ceremony marked the 30th anniversary of the Ophir Awards, named after the late Israeli actor Shaike Ophir.
This article was first published by i24NEWS.
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