Israel Film Festival in Los Angeles to honor Lior Ashkenazi, Jeffrey Tambor
The 31st Israel Film Festival will run from November 5-21 in Los Angeles, and among this year’s honorees will be Lior Ashkenazi, one of Israel’s leading actors, who will receive the 2017 IFF Cinematic Achievement Award.
Ashkenazi is a three-time Ophir Award winner and is currently starring in Samuel Maoz’s Foxtrot. Ashkenazi recently starred opposite Richard Gere in Joseph Cedar’s English-language film Norman, and has had roles in some of the greatest Israeli movies of the past two decades, including Cedar’s Oscar-nominated Footnote, Eytan Fox’s Walk on Water, Aharon Keshales and Navot Papushado’s Big Bad Wolves and Dover Koshashvili’s Late Marriage.
Other honorees will include Emmy and Golden Globe winner Jeffrey Tambor, the star of the series Transparent, who will receive the 2017 IFF Achievement in Television Award.
Their awards will be presented at the opening night gala, award presentation and screening in Los Angeles on November 5 at the Steve Tisch Cinema Center at the Saban Theater in Beverly Hills, according to an announcement by festival founder and executive director Meir Fenigstein. The opening-night film will be Yariv Mozer’s documentary, Ben Gurion, Epilogue, winner of the 2017 Ophir Award for Best Documentary, which will be screened following the award presentation at the Saban Theater.
This year’s festival chairman is Adam Berkowitz,co-head of television at Creative Artists Agency (CAA), who will receive the 2017 IFF Career Achievement Award. David Shore, the creator of the television series House, will receive the 2017 IFF Visionary Award. Max Webb, the founder of Shapell Properties, will receive the 2017 Lifetime Achievement Award. Arnon Milchan, owner of New Regency, is the honorary chairman of the festival.
The festival will feature the best of recent Israeli cinema and will include the premiere of the second season of the Israeli television series, Fauda. The festival will feature a 40th anniversary tribute to Avi Nesher’s 1978 classic, The Troupe (Ha Lahaka).
For further information or to purchase tickets, go to the festival website at www.israelfilmfestival.com.