‘The Sea’ Wins Best Film at Israel’s Ophir Awards Amid Gaza War Tensions and Political Backlash

Shai Carmeli-Pollak’s drama The Sea took home the Best Film prize at the 2025 Ophir Awards, Israel’s top film honors, in a politically charged ceremony overshadowed by the Gaza war and the ongoing hostage crisis. The win automatically makes The Sea Israel’s official submission for the Best International Feature Film category at the 98th Academy Awards.

The emotionally raw ceremony was held in Tel Aviv just hours after Israel launched a ground offensive on Gaza City, amid a mounting death toll exceeding 64,000. Many attendees arrived dressed in black, and nearly every acceptance speech addressed the escalating violence, the fates of the October 7 Hamas hostages, and the humanitarian crisis in Gaza.

The Sea tells the story of Khaled, a 12-year-old Palestinian boy attempting to see the sea for the first time, only to be turned away at an Israeli checkpoint. Its young lead, Muhammad Gazawi, won Best Actor and delivered a heartfelt message: “All children deserve to live and dream without wars.”

Khalifa Natour, awarded Best Supporting Actor, did not attend, but his written statement condemned the Gaza offensive, calling it a “genocide that frightens me greatly.” He added, “Even cinema and theater become secondary in the face of such horror.”

Other contenders for Best Film included Nadav Lapid’s Yes — a satire targeting Israeli societal apathy toward Palestinian suffering — and Natali Braun’s Oxygen, which critiques mandatory military service through the lens of a mother’s desperate struggle. Both films reflect perspectives that clash with the right-wing government of Benjamin Netanyahu.

In response to these narratives, Culture Minister Miki Zohar threatened to pull public funding, accusing the awards of elevating Palestinian voices over national values. His remarks fueled controversy and were met with both defiance and support within Israel’s traditionally left-leaning film industry, which has also faced a Hollywood-led boycott protesting the military campaign.

In his Lifetime Achievement Award speech, director Uri Barbash condemned Netanyahu’s leadership and invoked his Oscar-nominated film Beyond the Walls, saying: “We will strike and protest, Jews and Arabs, together… We must end this accursed war and restore dignity to Israeli society.”

Gan de Lange, who won Best Animation for A Bird’s Wish, used her speech to read the names of hostages still held in Gaza. Comedy filmmakers Zion Baruch, Asi Israelof, and Shalom Michaelshwilli dedicated their special award to their crew members Gali and Zivi Berman, abducted during the October 7 attacks.

Though Yes missed the top prize, it secured wins for Best Soundtrack and Best Editing, while Oxygen went home empty-handed. In a surprise upset, Eti Tsiko’s Nandauri won Best Director and Best Actress (for Neta Riskin), alongside Best Makeup, Costume Design, and Cinematography. The story follows an Israeli lawyer confronting her past in Georgia while rescuing an abandoned boy.

Best Documentary went to Tom Shoval’s Letter To David, a deeply personal film about actor David Cunio, who starred in Shoval’s debut and was kidnapped during the October 7 attack. Shoval said, “This is an unfinished film… it will remain open until David returns. This damned war must end.”

The 2025 Ophir Awards were not just a celebration of cinema, but a mirror to the deep fractures within Israeli society, as the film industry continues to navigate between artistic freedom, national identity, and the urgent moral questions of war and peace.