The Israel Film Festival is a film festival that takes place annually in the United States in three cities: Los Angeles, New York and Miami. It is the largest showcase of Israeli cinema in the United States. Founded in 1982 by Meir Fenigstein, a former drummer for the Israeli rock band, Kaveret

Kaveret

Kaveret , also known as Poogy , was an Israeli rock band in the mid-1970s that won much fame around the world for their often humorous songs and unique style of music. Their shows included many skits, among which are the Sipurey Poogy...

, the festival is the premier showcase for new work from Israeli independent filmmakers. The festival comprises official sections for Israeli dramatic and documentary films, both feature-length films and short films, and television dramas.

The festival is a production of IsraFest Foundation, Inc., a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization based in Los Angeles whose mission is to enrich the American vision of Israeli life and culture through the medium of film, and to foster an intercultural dialogue through conversations with visiting Israeli artists. The festival is credited with helping Israeli films get Hollywood exposure.

Each year, the festival hosts a Gala Awards Dinner at the Beverly Hilton with a Hollywood Salute to Israel and bestows coveted IFF Awards to individuals for Acting, Producing, Visionary and Lifetime Achievements. On October 20, 2010, IFF Awards were presented to Richard Dreyfuss

Richard Dreyfuss

Richard Stephen Dreyfuss is an American actor best known for starring in a number of film, television, and theater roles since the late 1960s, including the films American Graffiti, Jaws, Close Encounters of the Third Kind, The Goodbye Girl, Whose Life Is It Anyway?, Stakeout, Always, What About...

 (Career Achievement Award), Ryan Kavanaugh

Ryan Kavanaugh

Ryan Kavanaugh is an American film producer and entrepreneur who is the founder and CEO of Relativity Media.- Early life :...

 (Outstanding Achievement in Film Award), Jon Landau

Jon Landau

Jon Landau is an American music critic, manager and record producer, most known for his association in all three capacities with Bruce Springsteen.He is currently the head of the nominating committee for the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame....

 (Visionary Award) and Avi Lerner

Avi Lerner

Avinoam Lerner is an Israeli-born film producer, primarily of American action movies.-Life and career:Lerner originally worked in movie theaters in Tel Aviv, but soon re-located to South Africa, where he produced several films in that country and also owned a chain of movie theaters there until he...

(Lifetime Achievement Award).

The Israel Film Festival has distinguished itself from other festivals by being a traveling event that has been held in four major American cities: New York, Miami, Chicago and Los Angeles.

External links

• Variety article http://www.variety.com/article/VR1118025637/
• Variety article http://www.variety.com/article/VR1118025638/
• The Hollywood Reporter article http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/israel-film-festival-celebrates-25th-31537/