January 10, 2013

Two Israeli documentaries are in the running for an Academy Award. The films – The Gatekeepers and 5 Broken Cameras – will face off with three other films in the Best Documentary category at the Oscars on February 24.

The Gatekeepers, directed by Dror Moreh, features interviews with six retired directors of Israel’s Shin Bet security service. It was recently named the best nonfiction film of 2012 by the National Society of Film Critics in the United States.

Emad Burnat and Guy Davidi’s 5 Broken Cameras tells the personal story of a Palestinian cameraman against the backdrop of the Israeli security fence in the West Bank village of Bil’in.

The films are up against tough competition from other documentary nominees: Searching For Sugar Man, How to Survive a Plague and The Invisible War.

The acclaimed Israeli film, Fill the Void, which critics here had hoped would secure a Best Foreign Film nomination missed out on the coveted shortlist. The romantic drama about an ultra-orthodox family won numerous awards in Israel and abroad in 2012.

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