Producer urges caution on Israel Film Law

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HAIFA, Israel, Sept. 23 (UPI) -- A producer of Israel's best movie of the year urged the government to resist any major changes to the nation's Film Law, which governs funding for movies.

Assaf Amir said the current law encourages the kind of grassroots cinema that created "Fill the Void," which took seven prizes at last week's Ophir Awards in Haifa.

"Israeli cinema grows from the grassroots, and the grassroots made the Film Law and the grassroots prove that all hues of the Israeli public receive a stage in Israeli film," Amir said after accepting the best picture award for "Fill the Void."

Amir was joined by the mayor of Haifa and industry leaders in urging caution while updating the law, which was enacted 11 years ago, Haaretz said. "Let's think culture and economics, not only politics," said Eitan Evan, president of the Israeli Academy of Film and Television. "You don't have to reinvent the wheel but to leverage what there is."

By wining the best picture award, "Fill the Void" will be entered in the U.S. Oscar competition for best foreign film. The film directed by Rama Buhrstein is the story of an ultra-orthodox Israeli family rocked by the death of a young mother during childbirth.

Haaretz said the film takes an insular and unique look at ultra-orthodox family without bringing in conflict with the secular world.