Sderot Film Festival Unveils Negba Incubator for Local Directors

The Cinema of the South Festival is adding a new funding mechanism to its 25th anniversary lineup this year. Organizers at the Sderot Cinematheque announced the creation of Negba, an incubator designed to support young filmmakers from the southern region. The program will accept five directors for development support.

The event takes place from November 1 to 5 at the Sderot Cinematheque. It was founded by the School of Audio and Visual Arts at Sapir Academic College. This year’s schedule emphasizes local production and the social impact of the past three years. Many of the selected works examine life in Sderot and the western Negev since the October 7 Hamas-led attacks.

The opening night centers on the Netflix series Bros. Hanan Savyon and Guy Amir will join the audience to discuss the show. The event will also feature the world premiere of the first two episodes of the second season. The series follows two childhood friends and Beitar Jerusalem supporters who manage a pub together while facing personal and professional crises.

Audiences will see advance screenings of several KAN productions. The schedule includes Motherland, a comedy-drama written by Yael Hedaya and starring Dana Ivgy, Sasson Gabay, and Alma Zack. A documentary series titled Whose Daughter Are You? will also air. Directed by Efrat Shalom Danon and Keren Shayo, the series explores the lives of Mizrahi women in Israel. The team behind the KAN series The Pshute will host a session with director Dan Messer and creators Bar Elmaliach Donzov, Chen Rotman, and Oshrit Sarusi.

The festival concludes with a preview of Iris Zaki’s film What Was She Thinking? The movie addresses the decision not to have children within Israeli society. Zaki currently leads the master’s degree program at the college. The closing ceremony also honors editor Nili Feller, a two-time Ophir Award winner. The tribute will showcase four films she edited, along with a master class and discussions with filmmakers Ari Folman and Dani Rosenberg.

Graduates of the Sapir program will present new projects. Efrat Corem will show Heart of Gold, starring Chen Amsalem, Menashe Noy, and Israel Atias. Shir Houri Abu will present the documentary 100 Gates. Tal Avitan, a Sderot-based filmmaker, will screen Carlos Outside the Lines, which depicts a children’s soccer coach in Kiryat Gat. Eight award-winning films from previous festival editions will also be included in the program.

Regional shorts focus on the aftermath of the October 7 attacks. The collection Sketches of the Soul features five works by western Negev filmmakers. Sami Shalom Chetrit will premiere My Beloved Gourama, a film that tracks his father’s life between Morocco and Israel. Swiss director Thomas Imbach will present two films and lead a master class in partnership with the Swiss Embassy. The Negba incubator launch marks the final item on the closing agenda.