Assaf Machnes's 'Where to?' wins top prize at Jerusalem Film Festival

Assaf Machnes's film "Where To?" won the top prize at the 43rd Jerusalem Film Festival, securing the Haggiag Award for Best Feature in the Haggiag Competition for Full-Length Israeli Feature Films. The film, which explores the bond between a Palestinian cab driver and a young gay Israeli in Berlin, also received awards for screenplay and performance. The jury praised it for portraying “what makes us human with remarkable clarity and deep sensitivity, transcending personal beliefs and cultural conflicts.” Ihab Salami won Best Performance for his role as the cab driver, described as “a convincing, subtle, and truthful performance that takes us on a journey.”

• The Diamond Competition for Full-Length Israeli Documentary Films awarded Best Documentary to Yael Abecassis's "I Am Neo."
• The GWFF Award for Best Israeli Debut Feature went to Yula Gidron's "Find Me, Okay?" which addresses a family's coping with a kidnapping and murder by Hamas.
• In the International Competition, Valeska Grisebach's "The Dreamed Adventure" won the Nechama Rivlin Award for Best International Film.
• The festival distributed approximately NIS 1 million in prizes across various Israeli and international categories.