By: Vickie J. Rubinson
Israeli director Joseph Cedar will make his second trip to the Academy Awards with his movie "Footnote." The nomination marks the 10th time an Israeli film has been up for Best Foreign Language Film. Cedar: "I feel like the luckiest guy."
Four years after stepping on to the red carpet of the Academy Awards for his film "Beaufort," Israeli director Joseph Cedar will be returning this year with his new movie "Footnote." The film was officially nominated in the category of Best Foreign Language FIlm and will compete for a golden statuette at the 84th Academy Awards in Los Angles on Feb. 26.
"Footnote" is a family drama about a father and son who are both Talmudic scholars at the Hebrew University, and involves a rivalry surrounding the acceptance of the Israeli Prize. It stars legendary Israeli comedic actor Shlomo Bar-Aba as the father and Lior Ashkenazi of "Walk on Water" fame as his son. In September, "Footnote" clinched the Ophir Award--the Israeli equivalent of the Oscar--for best picture as well as eight other trophies. The film also won Best Screenplay award at the Cannes International Film Festival in May and was snapped up by Sony Pictures Classics for North American distribution.
Only minutes after it was announced that "Footnote" was nominated for an Oscar contender, a press conference was hurriedly organized in Tel Aviv. Cedar looked bewildered at the sight of the masses of camera crews surrounding him.
"It must be a slow news day," the director said with a smile. "I feel like a lucky guy. There's is no other way to say it. Despite expectations to the contrary, the film was able to garner fans and that is a major source of satisfaction. We were aware that initial screenings had been warmly received, but still we were very surprised," Cedar said.
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