Israeli series win big at Canneseries
‘When Heroes Fly’ and ‘Miguel’ win prizes an inaugural TV festival
Israeli TV series won two of the five awards given at the inaugural Canneseries festival in France on Wednesday night.
Keshet’s When Heroes Fly was awarded the prize for best series, triumphing over nine other TV shows – including another one from Israel.
The other Israeli entry, the HOT series Miguel, won the prize for special performance.
The awards for best screenplay and best music went to Norway’s State of Happiness; the prize for best performance went to Italy’s The Hunter.
When Heroes Fly actor Tomer Kapon took the stage to accept the award and began with a Hebrew blessing.
“I just thanked God in Hebrew,” he said. “A life in Israeli television is not always an easy thing,” he continued, “but when you have a series that succeeds it’s because you work with people who love their work, so a big thank you to all of them.”
When Heroes Fly, which has yet to premiere in Israel, was created by writer and director Omri Givon, and based on the book by Amir Gutfreund. It features four friends – veterans of a special IDF unit – who reunite for one final mission 12 years after their traumatic experience in the Second Lebanon War. The show had its world premiere earlier this week at the festival.
Kapon, known for his role in Fauda, took the stage with Givon and his costars, Ninet Tayeb and Moshe Ashkenazi.
“This show deals with the consequences of war, and the prices of it,” Kapon said, “so I just want to say: make love and not war.”
Israel was the only country to have more than one entry in the official competition.
Miguel tells the story of Tom, a gay Israeli man who desperately wants to become a father. The series was created by Tom Salama and Daphna Levin, and is based in part on Salama’s life.
In the series, Tom, played by Ran Danker, travels to Guatemala – since gay men can’t easily adopt in Israel – and meets five-year-old Miguel, who he brings into his life and home. The series began airing on HOT in January.