For the fourth year, the ‘Sparks’ Competition will showcase short films created by students from the School of Audio and Visual Arts at Sapir College, presented as a captivating prologue to feature films and series throughout the festival. This is an opportunity to discover the emerging voices shaping the future of Israeli cinema.
Two prizes will be awarded to outstanding films, in the amount of 2,500 NIS, courtesy of the Farhi family. The winners will be announced at the festive awards ceremony on November 13th, at 16:00, at the Sderot Cinematheque - Hall 1.
Ruth Farhi (1927-2021)
Ruth Farhi was an acclaimed actress who played dozens of roles in films, series and plays. In addition to all her prolific work, she had a great love for participating in student films and meeting the next generation of filmmakers in Israel. She is survived by three children and six grandchildren, who decided to commemorate her by giving to those students she loved so much.
Another Round | 7.11 | 12:00 | Cinematheque - Hall 1
Israel | 2024 | 9 Min. | Hebrew | Hebrew Sub. | Fiction
A mother investigates the reasons behind her son’s suicide through the man who was his partner.
Director, Production & and Screenwriter: Ido Lev Shalom
Cinematography: Doron Ben Natan
Editor: Idan Rephael
Sound Design & Original Score: Gavriel Maimon
Cast: Iris Shachaf, Nimrod Andalut
*Presented as prologue to of the film Crazy Spring.
REMEMBER TO FORGET | 7.11 | 16:30 | Kibbutz Dorot
Israel | 2025 | 10 Min. | Hebrew | Hebrew Sub | Fiction
Daniel struggles to write a eulogy for her father and turns to a software program to compose it for her. The resulting text portrays her father in a different light than she herself remembers him, prompting her to ask questions.
Director and Screenwriter: Doron Ben Natan
Production: Matan Yahalon
Cinematography: Maxim Tovbin
Editor: Idan Raphael
Sound Design: Gavriel Maymon
Music: Nadav Cohen
Cast: Gal Peer, Daphna Levanon, Yael Shoham, Yuval Kachlon
*Presented as prologue to of the film Electric Child.
Nature of Things | 7.11 | 19:30 | Kibbutz Dorot
Israel | 2024 | 3 Min. | No Dialogue | Animation
Nature of Things is a very short stop motion film that accompanies a dying person in their final moments. The film offers a comforting perspective on death by reflecting on the circle of life and the natural world.
Directors, Producers, Screenwriters, Cinematographers, Editors & Cast: Nadav Adiv and Michal Artiomov
Sound Design and Music: Nadav Adiv
*Presented as prologue to of the film Better Go Mad in the Wild.
Hong Kong | 7.11 | 21:30 | Kibbutz Dorot
Israel | 2024 | 9 Min. | Hebrew | Hebrew Sub. | Fiction
An ambitious and manipulative young woman working at a dull insurance company finds a chance to break the monotony when she joins an office competition with a car as the grand prize.
Pushing herself to the limit, she crosses personal and moral boundaries in an unrelenting pursuit of victory.
Is fame worth the price?
Director and Screenwriter: Stav Levy
Production: Yuval Kachlon
Cinematography: Asaf Shalom
Editing: Idan Raphael
Sound Design & Original Score: Yonatan Alfi
Cast: Stav Levy, Liran Ashtar, Meitav Revivo
*Presented as prologue to of the film Simon of the Mountain.
Tibetian Prayer Flags | 8.11 | 16:00 | Kibbutz Dorot
Israel | 2025 | 2 Min. | English | Hebre Sub. | Documentary
About stickers, prayer flags, and everything in between.
Director, Production, Cinematography, and Editor: Or Hanai
*Presented as prologue to of the film Iman's Boat.
Quiet Waves | 09.11 | 14:00 | Cinematheque - Hall 1
Israel | 2025 | 6 Min. | Hebrew | Hebrew Sub. | Experimental
In a sterile, alienating hospital environment, a young girl with hearing impairment experiences moments of fear and hope before an operation that will affect her future.
The film follows her experience through visual imagery and repetitive sounds of a hearing test, leading the viewer on a journey of reflection and change.
Director, Screenwriter, Production, Cinematography & Editor: Shachaf Ben Ayun
Sound Design: Nimrod Boll
Original Score: None
Cast: Alma Fried, Sara Katz
*Presented as prologue to of the TV Series Game Changer.
Nobody's | 10.11 | 18:30 | Cinematheque - Hall 1
Israel | 2024 | 10 Min. | Hebrew | Hebrew Sub. | Documentary
The film observes a group of stray wild dogs- their lives full of suffering and their existence invisible to society.
What happens when their encounter with the human population crosses borders, and what kind of mirror does it place before us?
An eye-opening reflection on our emotional blindness as a society- on a reality that exists not in the world we choose to see, but in the one that lives alongside it, in the backyard.
Director, Screenwriter, Production, Cinematography & Editor: Kerem Gigi
Sound Design: Yair Sitbon
Original Score: Nsee / Nadav Cohen
*Presented as prologue to of the project Six Voices from the South.
Hero | 10.11 | 20:00 | Sderot Community Center
Israel | 2024 | 10 Min. | Hebrew | Fiction
Confined to a hospital bed after being seriously injured in the war, Ben is forced to deal with his father who never leaves his bedside, his ex-girlfriend who unexpectedly comes to visit, and a politician who comes to exploit his situation. All of a sudden, everything in him erupts and he tries to take back ownership of his story.
Director: Idan Raphael
Production: Yuval Kachlon
Script: Idan Raphael
Cinematography: Doron Ben Natan
Editing: Guy Dagan
Sound Design: Asaf Markovich
Cast: Itai Rozenfeld, Amit Gizbar, Dudi Gordon, Igal Zaks
*Presented as prologue to of the film Malachi.
How to remember | 11.11 | 11:00 | Eshkol Youth Center
Israel | 2024 | 10 Min. | Hebrew | Hebrew Sub | Documentary
A devoted son lovingly cares for his mother who suffers from dementia. While she has already forgotten everything, he learns how to remember her anew. An intimate documentary about love, longing, forgetting, and memory.
Director, Production, Screenwriter & Cinematography: Assaf Shalom
Editor: Shiran Lastfoguel
Sound Design: Assaf Shalom, Shiran Lastfoguel
*Presented as prologue to of the film Eighty and Counting.
Expression | 11.11 | 22:00 | Cinematheque - Hall 2
Israel | 2024 | 2 Min. | English | English Sub. | Animation
A feeling of creative block- ideas locked inside the head until they erupt uncontrollably, like a verbal outpouring. Everything spills out unfiltered: every thought, every concept, bursting into a chaotic, colorful expression.
Director, Production, Screenwriter, Cinematography & Editor: Tal Taigfeld
Sound Design & Original Score: Silona Bar
*Presented as prologue to of the film Journey of Shadows.
Smile :) | 13.11 | 18:30 | Cinematheque - Hall 2
Israel | 2024 | 10 Min. | Hebrew | Hebrew Sub. | Fiction
Adam is in his room, a month after the suicide of his best friend Amir, who was his partner in their YouTube channel, and is asked to make a 30-day video of his friend.
Adam looks at the last materials they made together from the day of his death, and discovers that there were signs of his friend’s suicide, but also a parting he didn’t realize had happened.
Director, Screenwriter & Editor: Guy Dagan
Production: Omri Rothstein
Cinematography: Maxim Tovbin
Sound Design: Shahar Amran
Original Score: Sheila Getker
Cast: Shemer Laria, Kfir Medenitzky
*Presented as prologue to of the film The Last Shot.