Southern Line - Pitching
Southern Line, a development lab by the Negev Film Fund, brings together documentary filmmakers and animation directors to create short docu-animation films about southern stories. At the festival, six projects will be showcased at a pitching event, to compete for production grants of NIS 250,000 each. The evening will also launch the call for Southern Line 2.0, in partnership with the Israeli Documentary Forum and the Israeli Animation Creators Association.
Featured Projects
Running and Returning | Yonatan Hashiloni
Following the horrors of October 7th and whispering "Shema Yisrael" for the first time in his life, a secular animator embarks on a journey into his family’s lineage of Kohanim. Swept into a mystical world of sacred letters, angels, and an overwhelming light that threatens to tear his life apart, he strives to find a way to walk the tightrope between sacred and secular—without losing himself or his sanity.
Mother's Echo | Raz Merhav and Liat Kaplan
At 17, Ruthi is forced to give up her son for adoption, and carries an unclosed hole in her body, until the son she gave up re-enters her life as an adult.
Bench Player | Shay Kremer, Linor Feigelson, Guy Dagan
Following the death of his friend Alon on October 7th, Sini is left alone on the bench of the Sha’ar HaNegev basketball team. As he sets out to follow the memory of Alon, the ultimate bench jockey, he discovers the differences between them and confronts the question of whether moving forward means finally getting off the bench.
Ghoul | Yousef Abo Madegem and Jonathan Dumosch
A hybrid animated documentary. A man from Rahat discovers that his life’s path was not shaped by his own choices, but by the fear of “Ghoul”, the demon of his childhood stories.
A Letter to a Son | Omri Barzliai and Kobi Vogman
An unexpected phone call connects Omri, a photographer documenting the demolition of a neighborhood in Nir Oz in the aftermath of October 7, with Abbad, a Bedouin worker tasked with carrying out the demolitions.
Two strangers from distant worlds, both fathers to newborn sons, find themselves confronting the same question: Can a man rise from the ruins of his home and still believe in a future for himself and his children?
A Letter to a Son is a film with a prophetic, biblical voice resonating beneath its surface: a world in which a father and son struggle to survive through the force of love, and a meditation on life in Israel in 2026.
The End of Cat Season | Shahar Muller and Sivan Ziv-Wind
When Sivan returns with her family to Kibbutz Sde Boker, she takes on the task of restoring the abandoned dining hall. During the cleaning process, layers of the community’s memories are revealed. She begins a personal journey of healing, rediscovering home, belonging, trust, and life.
