Israeli films have repeatedly reached the Academy Award shortlist and final nomination stage in the international feature category. Beaufort, Waltz with Bashir, Ajami and Footnote each became a nominee representing Israel. Their stories range from a military outpost in Lebanon to an animated memoir, a neighborhood drama in Jaffa and an academic rivalry in Jerusalem.
Four Israeli nominees in five years
Joseph Cedar’s Beaufort (2007) follows Israeli soldiers stationed at the Beaufort Castle outpost in southern Lebanon before Israel’s withdrawal in 2000. It was nominated at the 80th Academy Awards. The Academy’s 2008 ceremony record lists the film under Foreign Language Film and identifies Israel.
Ari Folman’s Waltz with Bashir (2008) combines animation and documentary testimony as Folman revisits memories of his military service during the 1982 Lebanon War. It earned Israel a nomination at the 81st Academy Awards. The Academy’s awards database records the film among the nominees.
Ajami (2009), co-directed by Scandar Copti and Yaron Shani, is set in Jaffa and follows interlocking stories among residents of the Ajami neighborhood. The Academy database lists it as Israel’s nominee for the 82nd awards. It also received a Caméra d’Or Special Distinction at Cannes; the Cannes archive records the directors and distinction.
Cedar returned to the category with Footnote (2011), a comedy-drama about a father and son who are Talmudic scholars at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. The film was nominated at the 84th Academy Awards. The Academy ceremony page lists it for Israel.
What nomination means
The nomination is a national submission’s place among the category’s final contenders; it is not a win. None of these four films won the Oscar. The Academy renamed Foreign Language Film as International Feature Film in 2020, while retaining the award’s focus on feature films made outside the United States with predominantly non-English dialogue. The Academy’s 2023 ceremony page uses the updated category name.
These nominations also show the range of Israeli filmmaking recognized by Academy voters: a war drama, an animated documentary, a multilingual neighborhood film and a university satire. For a different set of honors, including a Golden Globe win and documentary-feature nominations, see Israeli documentaries at international festivals.