Three short films won prizes totaling 15,000 N.I.S. at the Haifa International Film Festival’s competitions for student shorts, independent shorts and animated shorts.

Jury: Daniella Nowitz (film and television cinematographer), Batel Moseri (filmmaker, screenwriter, actress), Oren Gerner (film and television director and writer).

Best Student Film Award for 5,000 N.I.S.:  for the film “Gefen”

Dir: Noam Ellis

Source: The Steve Tisch School of Film and Television, Tel Aviv University

Jury comments: "An intelligent and mature film directed brilliantly and accurately that manages to keep the viewer alert and open-minded at the same time. This, while sketching the inner, busy and complex world of a brave girl without a responsible adult, who -- it seems even more than adults -- knows how to speak the language of love, even when she has no words."

Special Mention: for the film “From Here, You Can See the View”

Dir: Tal Elkayam

Source: The Jerusalem Sam Spiegel Film School

Jury comments: "A fascinating and poignant portrait of Israeli society emerges from observing at the Armon Hanatziv promenade in Jerusalem. Through this view, the film opens a window to powerful figures and images, reflecting the bubbling forces that reside among us."

Best Independent Short Film for 5,000 N.I.S.: for the film “Fujinoyamai”

Dir: Sasha Tamarin

Jury comments: “Through a journey to Mount Fuji in Japan and a look at the characters trying to capture its essence, the film maneuvers lightly between the mundane and the sublime, between the daily and the eternal. The passion and freedom that drive this creation offer us the ability to momentarily touch a distant life, which resonates in us the deep search that is in all of us.”

Special Mention: for the film “Pomegranate Flower”

Dir: Itamar Alcalay

Jury comments: “A film full of passion and love about the failure to adapt to society's requirement to live in a ‘normative’ relationship. A poetic script written with an exciting and touching intention that occasionally allows itself to ‘get dirty’ and deviate from the expected narrative.”

Best Animated Short Film for 5,000 N.I.S.: for the film “Baggage”

Dir: Einat Keshet

Source: School of Audio and Visual Arts, Sapir College

Jury comments: “A delicate and deep film that succeeds in the richness of its components to tell accurately and touchingly a story about a charged and complex relationship; as it leads the viewer step by step through the growing pains until the sweet moment of adolescence.”

Special Mention: for the film “6:6”

Dir: Yali Herbet

Jury comments: “With great stylistic skill, the film carries us in an associative current that stems from a single moment of pain and longing, which lies in the depths of memory and consciousness.”