Crucible of Tomorrow’s Filmmakers

Corona notwithstanding, the cinematic imagination will take flight.

For the sixth year running, Israel’s most promising young filmmakers are showcasing their movies – and launching their careers – at Sapir Academic College’s School of Audio and Visual Arts. As part of Sapir's Cinema South International Film Festival, aspiring producers and directors have been invited to Israel’s cutting-edge film incubator, featuring workshops and individual mentoring by leading figures from the Israeli and European film industries.

The five-day event, entitled Studio South, offers talented, young Israelis the chance to develop their first or second feature length film. Studio South is a cross border collaboration between Sapir and the Produire au Sud film incubator, a project of the Three Continents International Film Festival, based in Nantes, France. It begins on January 31st. 

Due to COVID19 restrictions, the incubator will be held electronically this year. At the end of the workshop, four chosen entries will be screened at an online pitch event, with industry professionals and film critics from Israel and around the world in attendance. 

Tamir Hod, director of the Cinema South Film Festival, explains that Studio South is one of six prestigious workshops organized globally by the Three Continents Film Festival. “This year, amidst the chaos of COVID19, the incubator will take place on line.  Here at Sapir we plan to make it as intimate, real, and meaningful as ever.”  Artistic director Michal Lavi adds that Studio South “puts young artists on a career trajectory towards the heart of the European film industry.”

This year, Sapir has recruited three world-renowned experts to its faculty of mentors:  film director Nadav Lapid, producer Amir Harel, and Virginie Devesa, founder of Alpha Violet, a Paris based indie-film sales company whose entries feature regularly at the Cannes Film Festival.