Why Israeli short films are winning international awards Author: Abigail Klein Leichman, Israel 21c Whether or not he wins an Oscar on April 25, or even makes the nomination list on March 15, Tomer Shushan has achieved an exceedingly rare accomplishment. The 33-year-old Israeli filmmaker’s first independent short film, “White Eye,” is one of 10 shortlisted in the Live Action Short Film category for the 93rd Academy Awards, out of 174 that qualified. “White Eye” is not only on the Academy Awards’ Oscars shortlist. “Israeli films and TV shows in general have gotten popular on platforms such as Netflix and Amazon Prime,” says Neta Ariel, director of Ma’aleh School of Film and Television in Jerusalem. “Israeli filmmaking has become so high quality that it opens a lot of doors. And shorts are part of this phenomenon,” she says, pointing out that the short film form provides “an amazing opportunity” to indulge a national penchant for storytelling. Israel is home to 15 film schools and university film departments, an unusually high number for its size. “Compared to many countries Israel has probably quite a lot of film schools per capita. I believe the reason for this is that in general the Israeli people love to tell stories and tell them well!”, says Stanislav Semerdjiev, executive director of CILECT, The World Association of Film and Television Schools. “Israel has a lot of ambitious and creative filmmakers and is a very special society that deals with a lot of conflicts. These are stories that give rich content to film. If something is perfect, it isn’t a good story.” “Israel is a super interesting place politically, historically and culturally, with super interesting voices, all in a very small area,” he says, and this reality provides endless inspiration for Israel’s many film students.” Source: Israel 21c ? Alexey Kudrick ?? IF YOU LOVE ISRAEL - SHARE NEWSRAEL! ??