12.12.2022

JFBB Film Cinema Sabaya nominated for Oscars

The first feature film by Orit Fouks Rotem is Israel's official entry for Best Foreign Film at the 2023 Academy Awards.

In her first feature film, Israeli filmmaker Orit Fouks Rotem tackles a difficult subject: promoting peace and empathy between a group of four Jewish and four Arab women.


Cinema Sabaya screened at JFBB 2022 in the Feature Film Competition and won the top prize, the Gershon Klein Feature Film Award.

Jury statement: "Orit Fouk's Rotem's chamber play about a film workshop for Arab and Jewish Israeli women, staged in the form of a video diary, cleverly explores female realities of life and cultural breaking points."


"Cinema Sabaya" has also already won five Ophir (Israeli Academy of Film and Television) awards, including Best Film, Best Director for Rotem and Best Supporting Actress for Joanna Said.

Now Cinema "Sabya" is Israel's official entry for Best Foreign Film at the 95th Academy Awards. "Cinema Sabaya" is the 54th Oscar submission for Israel.

The Oscars will be held on March 12.


Read more about the film here.