The 42nd Haifa International Festival opened with an emotional tribute to director Avi Nesher, who was awarded its lifetime achievement award, and the official Israeli premiere of his latest movie, Our Loves.
The festival will continue until October 3, and Our Loves will open throughout Israel on October 15.
Our Loves received a standing ovation, and the tribute referenced Nesher’s personal and professional connections to the festival in a way that was especially meaningful. Nesher was joined after the film by the cast of his epic, multi-character drama about a group of people in the south of Israel who think they are having the worst day of their lives on October 6, 2023, and struggle to survive when Hamas attacks the next day.
As he stood on stage with most of the cast, including Shalom Michaelshwilli, Magi Azarzar, Noa Cohen, Daniel Gimpel, Yaniv Biton, Chancela “Sean” Mongoza, Hadas Yaron, Amir Banai and others, he seemed overcome at times with emotion over the audience reaction, the film’s message, the support of his cast, and his own memories.
Nesher dramatizes October 7 stories, providing closure
The last day of the 2023 Haifa International Film Festival was October 7 – of course, it had to be canceled – and there was a feeling of a kind of closure that some of the stories from that day had been dramatized by Nesher, one of Israel’s most beloved and most acclaimed directors. In this moment, Nesher – whose previous films include The Troupe, a look at an army entertainment troupe in the 70s; Rage and Glory, a story about the Lehi Underground; and Image of Victory, a drama about young Israelis and Egyptians during the Independence War -- could be seen as Israel’s national storyteller, taking us into the darkest moments of recent history and finding moments of grace amid the horror.
He was fresh from the film’s triumphant run at the Toronto International Film Festival earlier this month, where he received standing ovations at the film’s three sold-out screenings. While the audiences there were enthusiastic, he said, the security was heavier than anything he had ever experienced before when five of his previous films were shown there.
After he learned that Our Loves had been accepted by Toronto, he said, “The festival officially asked me to provide a name other than my own for the sign held by the driver meeting my wife and me at the Toronto airport. They explained that displaying the name of a well-known Israeli might attract attention and that something violent could happen. I don’t have to tell you what went through my mind.
“Throughout the festival, we had very heavy security: an armored vehicle and bodyguards. It was frightening. Then we heard that every ticket to the premiere had sold out within minutes. That should have been good news, but we were nervous about who would fill the theater. We arrived to find it packed. We were brought in under security, and … [Our Loves cast members] Noa Cohen, Daniel Gimpel, Yaniv Biton, and I stood before that large audience. Someone told us, ‘This is the moment.’ We were apprehensive. Then, suddenly, there were cheers, applause, and cries of ‘Bravo!’ Some 500 people rose to their feet and applauded an Israeli film. It was unbelievable. We were overwhelmed, looking at one another as the applause went on and on. We knew something important had happened–something that cinema can do.”
Nesher continued: “We returned to Israel a few days ago knowing another emotional moment awaited us. Tonight is the first time the film is being shown officially to an Israeli audience. It’s perhaps less frightening, but much more intimate. It’s like introducing your new girlfriend to your family. Haifa has shown many of my films, and it has always felt like a loving family here.”
The ceremony featured a musical tribute to Nesher’s work, with several well-known songs from his movies performed as clips from the movies played, including a medley from The Troupe performed by one of the film’s stars, Sassi Keshet, and an IDF quartet. “New Day Will Rise,” a song about the massacre at the Nova Music Festival, was performed by Nova survivor Yuval Raphael, who sang it in the 2025 Eurovision competition, and she was joined by the Iranian singer Gola, making it into a memorable duet.
There was also a pre-recorded interview with Nesher, in which he described being a lifelong cinema buff, and clips of some of his favorite movies were shown, including North by Northwest and High Noon, with Cary Grant and Gary Cooper’s faces replaced by images of Nesher.
“I’m very grateful for this lifetime achievement award, but I don’t think it belongs to me alone. I share it with the many people whose talent, dedication, ideas, and wisdom helped make the films I wrote and directed,” he said and thanked a number of his collaborators, including producer Moshe Edery and Edery’s late brother, Leon Edery, as well as his longtime editor, Isaac Sehayek.
Said Nesher, “Tonight, I thank the people closest to me: my wife, the wonderful artist, Iris, and my daughter, Tom [a director who made the movie, Come Closer]... Each has been part of my life and my films in her own way.”
Nesher discusses 2018 film festival
The most meaningful moment came when he recalled the last time one of his movies opened the film festival in Haifa, in 2018, with the Israeli premiere of The Other Story.
“Now comes the sad part. Today is September 26, Ari’s birthday. You know his story,” he said, referring to his late son, Ari Nesher. Following the 2018 festival opening in Haifa, Ari was injured in a hit-and-run accident in Tel Aviv and died on September 27. He was just 17.
“The fact that you know it is itself part of what makes this feel like a family: that Israeli sense of togetherness and shared responsibility. So, because we are family, I want to share this with you. At the screening of The Other Story here in Haifa, I went up at the end to thank the audience. People were standing and applauding, and there, in the tenth row, was my son Ari, with a huge smile.”
The screen behind Nesher filled up with a photo of his wife and daughter, and zoomed out to show Ari with them, and several other photographs of the family were projected on the screen. His normally confident voice wavered, and he teared up as he said, “I know he would have been proud of this award, and proud of this film. I’m sorry; I didn’t mean to bring everyone down. But families share everything–the awards and the sadness, too.”
At the end of the screening, standing with his cast and crew, Nesher looked simultaneously full of love and sorrow, knowing he was in a room filled with people who understood the story of both his own personal tragedy eight years ago and the nation’s 2023 tragedy. After the movie, dozens of well-wishers came up to thank him for the film, expressing sympathy for him and gratitude that he was able to help them make sense of the nation’s recent loss.