# Ophir Award

The Ophir Awards (Hebrew: פרס אופיר), full name: the Israel Film Academy Award, sometimes also known as The Israeli Oscars or the Israeli Academy Awards, are film awards for excellence in the Israeli film industry awarded by the Israeli Academy of Film and Television. The award, named after Israeli actor Shaike Ophir, has been granted since 1990.
The Academy Awards ceremony takes place every year in September, about four months before the announcement of the nominees for the American Academy Award. The winner of the "Best Film" award is sent as Israel's representative to compete for an Oscar nomination in the "Best Foreign Film Oscar Award" category. Out of the winners of the Ophir Award in the "Best Film" category over the years, 10 films were chosen to be nominated for the Oscar Award in the "Best Foreign Film" category.

## History

The first Israeli Academy Awards ceremony was held in 1982 with the first award being presented to director Shimon Dotan for the film Repeat Dive, and since 1990 has been renamed the Ophir Awards and held annually at the Tel Aviv Performing Arts Center. The award holds annual competitions in the field of feature and documentary cinema among the films produced that year. The Ophir Awards are awarded in 18 categories in the field of Israeli cinematic creation.
Since 2003, the Academy has held a separate ceremony for television programs. Before the establishment of the Academy, the "Kinor Daviv" was awarded in the years 1963 - 1986 to creators in various fields of Israeli culture. The award was given both in the field of cinema and in the field of communication (where awards were given for television programs). Starting in 2003, these awards are given separately as part of the "Awards of the Israel Television Academy".
The year 2004 is known as the record year for viewing percentages of Israeli films and the record year for the Ophir Awards ceremony: 23 feature films competed, including the blockbusters "Turn Left at the End of the World", "Campfire" and "Walk on Water".
As of 2022, The highest number of Ophir Awards won by a single film is 11, for the film "Nina's Tragedies", which in 2003 won 11 awards out of a possible 13 (not including the "Best Documentary" award and "Lifetime Achievement Award"), including the best film, but lost the best actor award to Aryeh Elias and the best composer award to Ehud Banai (both from the film "James' Journey to Jerusalem"). The record for winnings per person belongs to Assi Dayan and Gil Toran, who won 8 Ophir awards each. Assi Dayan is also the only one who won awards for directing, writing and acting.
The award is televised every year. In the beginning it was broadcast on Channel 2 as part of Keshet Medial Group broadcasts, and then the broadcast moved to Channel 10. In 2016 the ceremony was broadcast live on Channel 24 and then returned a second Channel 12.
The winner of the Best Film award usually becomes Israel's submission for the Academy Award for Best International Feature Film, although exceptions include Aviva My Love (which was rejected in favor of the film it tied with, Sweet Mud) and The Band's Visit, which was disqualified for having more than 50% of its dialogue in English. Israel submitted the runner-up for that year—Beaufort—instead. The latter film was eventually nominated for the Academy Award for Best International Feature Film.
The statuette awarded to prize winners was designed by the Israeli sculptor Richard Shiloh, who was killed in a motorcycle accident in 2011.
The categories in which the award is distributed:
* Best Movie
* Best Director
* Best Lead Actor
* Best Lead Actress
* Best Supporting Actor
* Best Supporting Actress
* Best Shot
* Best Original Screenplay
* Best Edit
* Best Artistic Design
* Best Costume Design
* Best Original Music
* Best Soundtrack
* Best Makeup
* Best Casting
* Best Documentary
* Best Short Documentary
* Lifetime Achievement Award
* Best Short Feature Film
In addition, almost every year awards are given for lifetime achievement and a recognition award for professional achievements.

## List of winners

* 1990: The Lookout (Shuroo)
* 1991: Beyond the Sea
* 1992: Life According to Agfa
* 1993: Revenge of Itzik Finkelstein
* 1994: Sh'Chur
* 1995: Lovesick on Nana Street
* 1996: Saint Clara
* 1997: Pick a Card
* 1998: Circus Palestine
* 1999: Yana's Friends
* 2000: Time of Favor
* 2001: Late Marriage
* 2002: Broken Wings
* 2003: Nina's Tragedies
* 2004: Campfire
* 2005: What a Wonderful Place
* 2006: Aviva, My Love and Sweet Mud
* 2007: The Band's Visit
* 2008: Waltz with Bashir
* 2009: Ajami
* 2010: The Human Resources Manager
* 2011: Footnote
* 2012: Fill the Void
* 2013: Bethlehem
* 2014: Gett: The Trial of Viviane Amsalem
* 2015: Baba Joon
* 2016: Sand Storm
* 2017: Foxtrot
* 2018: The Cakemaker
* 2019: Incitement
* 2020: Asia
* 2021: Let There Be Morning
* 2022: Cinema Sabaya
* 2023: Seven Blessings
* 2024: Come Closer

## Awards ceremonies

This is a list of Ophir Award ceremonies.

### Ceremonies

| Ceremony | Date | Time | Best Picture Winner | Length of Ceremony | Number of Viewers | Rating | Host(s) | Venue | Broadcast Partner(s) |
| — | 1984 | — | Beyond the Walls | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| — | 1985 | — | When Night Falls | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| — | 1986 | — | Avanti Popolo | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| — | 1987 | — | I Don't Give a Damn | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| — | 1988 | — | Aviya's Summer | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| — | 1989 | — | One of Us | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 1st Ophir Awards [he] | 1990 | — | The Lookout | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 2nd Ophir Awards | 1991 | — | Beyond the Sea | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 3rd Ophir Awards | 1992 | — | Life According to Agfa | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 4th Ophir Awards | 1993 | — | Revenge of Itzik Finkelstein | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 5th Ophir Awards | 1994 | — | Sh'Chur | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 6th Ophir Awards | 1995 | — | Lovesick on Nana Street | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 7th Ophir Awards | 1996 | — | Saint Clara | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 8th Ophir Awards | 1997 | — | Pick a Card | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 9th Ophir Awards | 1998 | — | Circus Palestine | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 10th Ophir Awards | 1999 | — | Yana's Friends | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 11th Ophir Awards | 2000 | — | Time of Favor | — | — | — | Aki Avni | — | — |
| 12th Ophir Awards | 2001 | — | Late Marriage | — | — | — | Yael Abecassis | — | — |
| 13th Ophir Awards | 2002 | — | Broken Wings | — | — | — | Avi Kushnir | — | — |
| 14th Ophir Awards | September 24, 2003 | — | Nina's Tragedies | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Since 2003 the ceremony split into two ceremonies: a separate ceremony for television and a separate ceremony for films. This was also the first ceremony which been held in late September instead of October, due to the US Academy Awards brought forward from March to February. ||||||||||
| Since 2004, the award name changed from "Israeli Oscar" to "Ophir Award," named after actor Shaike Ophir. ||||||||||
| 15th Ophir Awards | September 27, 2004 | 8:45 p.m. | Campfire | — | — | — | Avi Kushnir | Tel Aviv Performing Arts Center | Channel 2 |
| 16th Ophir Awards | September 20, 2005 | — | What a Wonderful Place | — | — | — | Moni Moshonov | Tel Aviv Performing Arts Center | HOT3 |
| 17th Ophir Awards | September 14, 2006 | 8:00 p.m. | Aviva, My Love and Sweet Mud (tie) | 2 hours, 38 minutes | — | — | Shlomo Bar-Aba, Moni Moshonov | Tel Aviv Performing Arts Center | — |
| 18th Ophir Awards | September 20, 2007 | 8:00 p.m. | The Band's Visit | 1 hour, 41 minutes | — | — | Tal Friedman, Moni Moshonov | Tel Aviv Performing Arts Center | Channel 2 (Not Live) |
| 19th Ophir Awards | September 23, 2008 | — | Waltz with Bashir | — | — | — | Shai Goldstein, Dror Refael | Tel Aviv Performing Arts Center | Channel 10 |
| 20th Ophir Awards | September 26, 2009 | — | Ajami | — | — | — | Avi Kushnir, Moni Moshonov | Haifa Auditorium | Channel 2 |
| 21st Ophir Awards [he] | September 21, 2010 | 9:30 p.m. | The Human Resources Manager | — | — | — | Aki Avni | Jerusalem Theatre | Channel 1 |
| 22nd Ophir Awards [he] | September 22, 2011 | 8:45 p.m. | Footnote | 2 hour, 12 minutes | — | — | Moni Moshonov | Krieger Center for Performing Arts | Channel 2 90 minutes were broadcast live. |
| 23rd Ophir Awards [he] | September 21, 2012 | 1:00 p.m. | Fill the Void | — | — | — | Shlomo Bar-Aba | Krieger Center for Performing Arts | Channel 2 Air an edited version in 10:00 p.m. |
| 24th Ophir Awards [he] | September 28, 2013 | 9:00 p.m. | Bethlehem | — | — | — | Yaron Brovinsky | Haifa Theatre | Channel 10 |
| 25th Ophir Awards [he] | September 21, 2014 | 9:00 p.m. | Gett: The Trial of Viviane Amsalem | — | — | — | Moni Moshonov | Ashdod Performing Arts Center | Channel 10 |
| 26th Ophir Awards [he] | September 21, 2015 | 9:00 p.m. | Baba Joon | — | — | — | Tal Friedman | Ashdod Performing Arts Center | Channel 10 |
| 27th Ophir Awards [he] | September 22, 2016 | 9:00 p.m. | Sand Storm | — | — | — | Guri Alfi | Ashdod Performing Arts Center | Channel 24 |
| 28th Ophir Awards [he] | September 19, 2017 | — | Foxtrot | — | — | — | Ilan Peled | Ashdod Performing Arts Center | Channel 10 |
| 29th Ophir Awards [he] | September 6, 2018 | — | The Cakemaker | — | — | — | Ilan Peled | Ashdod Performing Arts Center | Channel 13 |
| 30th Ophir Awards [he] | September 22, 2019 | — | Incitement | — | — | — | Tzachi Halevy, Yuval Scharf | — | Kan 11 |
| 31st Ophir Awards [he] | November 13, 2020 | — | Asia | — | — | — | Kobi Meaden | — | Kan 11 |
| 32nd Ophir Awards [he] | October 5, 2021 | 9:15 p.m. | Let There Be Morning | — | — | — | Alma Zack, Shai Avivi | — | Kan 11 |
| 33rd Ophir Awards | September 18, 2022 | 11:00 p.m. | Cinema Sabaya | — | — | — | — | | Kan 11 |
| 34th Ophir Awards [he] | September 10, 2023 | — | Seven Blessings | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 35th Ophir Awards | September 16, 2024 | | Come Closer | | | | | | |

### Award Records

Record nominations for a film (general): 15 - "The World is Funny" (2012) [8], "Image of Victory" (2021), "Let it be Morning" (2021)
Record of wins for a film (overall): 11 – "Nina's Tragedies" (2003)
Record of wins per person (general): 10 - Israel David (all in the soundtrack category)
Record of wins for the soundtrack: 10 - Israel David
Record of wins for editing: 7 - Einat Glazer-Zarhin
Record of winnings for photography: 4 - David Gurfinkel
Record of wins for an actress: 3 - Ronit Elkebetz (3 main actress), 3 - Dana Ivgy (2 main actress; 1 supporting actress), 3 - Anat Waxman (1 main actress; 2 supporting actress), 3 - Raymond Amsalem (1 main actress, 2 supporting actress)
Record wins for a player: 4 - Sasson Gabai (2 main player; 2 secondary player)
Record of winnings for a screenplay: 4 - Savi Gabizon ("The Lookout", "Lovesick on Nana Street", "Nina's Tragedies" and "Longing")
Record of wins for directing: 3 - Savi Gabizon ("The Lookout", "Lovesick on Nana Street" and "The Lookout")
Record of wins for the documentary film: 2 - Arnon Goldfinger, Nadav Shirman, Shlomi Elder

### Ceremony hosts

The following have hosted (or co-hosted) the Academy Awards ceremony on two or more occasions.
| Host | Number of Ceremonies |
| Moni Moshonov | 5 |
| Avi Kushnir | 2 |
| Shlomo Bar-Aba | 2 |
| Tal Friedman | 2 |
| Ilan Peled | 2 |