18/05/2015 - The Belgian-Israeli co-production has won Best Film and Best Director, while Approaching the Elephant conquered the international competition

The 17th Docaviv – the Tel Aviv International Documentary Film Festival (7-16 May) – ended with Sylvain Biegeleisen's Twilight of a Life winning the Best Israeli Film and Best Director Awards. Biegeleisen received the latter prize, and €1,100 provided by Irina and Rami Shalmor, from the newly established jury of FEDEORA, the Federation of Film Critics of Europe and the Mediterranean.

The Best Israeli Film Award, worth €16,000, courtesy of Sarah and Professor Michael Sela, was awarded by the main jury to the touching, heartwarming and intimate film about the last months in the life of the director's 94-year-old mother. The film recently also won the Jury Prize for Best Belgian Film at Docville in Leuven.

Reuven Brodsky's 7 Days in St Petersburg received the Special Jury Mention to the tune of €4,500, as well as the Best Editing Award (€900) and the Best Original Music Award (€1,100) for Adi Rennert.

Mor Loushy's Censored Voices [+see also:
trailer
film profile] won the Mayor of Tel Aviv-Yafo Award for a Debut Film, worth €6,800, and the Best Research Award (€900).

John Cherny won the Best Cinematography Award and €900 for his work on Vladi Antonevicz's Credit for Murder, while the FEDEORA Jury Special Mention went to Assaf Banitt's Against Your Will.

Arab Movie by Eyal Sagui Bizawe and Sara Tsifroni received the Art and Culture Award, which comes with €2,300, courtesy of friends of Sarah and Professor Michael Sela, and a Special Jury Mention was given to Matti Caspi – Confession, directed by Dalia Mevorach and Dani Dothan.

In the International Competition, Amanda Wilder's Approaching the Elephant received the Best International Film Award, worth €4,500, whereas Jean-Gabriel Périot's Berlinale Panorama title A German Youth [+see also:
trailer
film profile] bagged a Special Jury Mention.

The FEDEORA Freedom Award went to the Danish film Democrats [+see also:
trailer
film profile] by Camilla Nielsson. In the Depth of Field Competition, Matthew Bate's Sam Klemke's Time Machine (Australia-US) won the Artistic Vision Award, in the amount of $3,000, courtesy of Iris Rywkind Ben Zur and Eran Ben Zur.

Finally, the Best Student Film Award (€2,300) went to 1 Building and 40 People Dancing by Miki Polonski, while Mazal Ben Yishai's Mazal Means Luck received the second prize (€900), and Etoile by Nitzan Lahav, Liat Raviv and Lee Ben Waiss came third (€700).