Sderot Film Festival Opens 25th Anniversary Program in November

The Cinema of the South Festival will hold its 25th edition at the Sderot Cinematheque in southern Israel from November 1 to 5. The event marks a quarter-century of activity for a festival originally established by the School of Audio and Visual Arts at Sapir Academic College.

The program for the upcoming week features television premieres, international films, and music performances. It also includes competitions and direct meetings with filmmakers. The 2026 lineup places special emphasis on creators from Sderot and the western Negev region.

Several works in the selection examine life in the three years following the Hamas-led massacres in Israel on October 7, 2023. This thematic focus runs through both the regional programming and the works of returning Sapir graduates.

The opening evening will begin with a stage discussion featuring Hanan Savyon and Guy Amir. The pair will discuss their Netflix series "Bros," which follows two childhood friends and Beitar Jerusalem fans who run a pub in the capital. The discussion will be followed by the world premiere of the first two episodes of the show's second season.

Advance screenings scheduled for the week include "Motherland," a comedy-drama by Yael Hedaya starring Dana Ivgy, Sasson Gabay, and Alma Zack. Audiences will also view "Whose Daughter Are You?" a KAN documentary series directed by Efrat Shalom Danon and Keren Shayo about Mizrahi women. The team behind the popular KAN series "The Pshute" will host a session, including director Dan Messer and creators Bar Elmaliach Donzov, Chen Rotman, and Oshrit Sarusi.

Regional programming features "Sketches of the Soul," a collection of five short films by western Negev filmmakers depicting life after October 7. The festival will also screen the premiere of "My Beloved Gourama" by Sami Shalom Chetrit, a film that traces his father's life in Morocco and Israel. Swiss director Thomas Imbach will present two films and lead a master class in cooperation with the Swiss Embassy.

Returning graduates from the Sapir school will present new projects. Efrat Corem will screen "Heart of Gold," starring Chen Amsalem, Menashe Noy, and Israel Atias. Shir Houri Abu will show the documentary "100 Gates," while Sderot filmmaker Tal Avitan will present "Carlos Outside the Lines," a film about a children's soccer coach in Kiryat Gat. Eight winning films from previous festival editions will also be part of the screenings.

The festival will conclude with a preview of "What Was She Thinking?" by Iris Zaki, a film exploring the choice to remain childless in Israeli society. Zaki heads the school's master's degree program. The closing ceremony will pay tribute to editor Nili Feller, a two-time Ophir Award winner, featuring four films she edited and meetings with Ari Folman and Dani Rosenberg. The final event will launch Negba, a new incubator for young filmmakers from the south.