Students from three Israeli high schools garnered top honors at the seventh annual International Student Film Festival Hollywood (ISFFH), which concluded on Sunday. The Israeli entries won four out of six awards given to non-English- Second only to the U.S., Israel was tied with Canada in the number of films selected for viewing at the festival. language films at the event. The ISFFH is dedicated to generating "worldwide attention [for] student filmmaking talent and artistic vision," in the words of the organization's promotional literature, by way of the annual film festival. Participating students range from elementary to graduate school. The ISFFH also assists student filmmakers and their schools with managing distribution rights for any film presented at the event. Submitted films are judged by directors, writers, editors and filmmakers from the fields of animation, documentary, live action and music video production. This year's ISFFH event, which took place November 7-8 in the NoHo Arts District of North Hollywood, included 65 films from nine countries - Vietnam, Turkey, Sri Lanka, Sweden, Romania, Israel, Canada, Australia and the U.S.A. Second only to the U.S., Israel was tied with Canada in the number of films selected for viewing at the festival. Four Israeli high schools presented eight films, six of which were produced by students at two schools in Haifa. All the Israeli festival entries selected were produced by high school seniors as part of their final project in their communications technology studies. And the Winners Are... Awarded the prize for Best Foreign Language High School Drama was the film A Long Way Down , written by Inbar Arman and directed by Lior Levi and Shay Eyal of Ironi-Hey High School, Haifa. The film focuses on three strangers who find themselves on the roof of a building, all intent on committing suicide. As the characters develop their relationship, a surprising change of plans ensues. Students from Ironi-Hey won the Best Foreign Language High School Drama award last year, as well. The Best Foreign Language High School Documentary award was given to Between Two Worlds , which follows the young filmmaker Nina Kardashov as she returns to the scene of a jihad terrorist attack that claimed the lives of her grandmother and six other victims during her Bat Mitzvah celebration. Nina, from Hadera's Beit Eliezer High School, relives the drama of that terrible day before the camera. A film titled Shay-El won a second award handed out for Best Foreign Language High School Documentary. Directed by Tomer Buskila, also from Ironi-Hey in Haifa, and written by Eliran Yaakov, the film tells the story of a handicapped IDF veteran, his recovery and two-year struggle with military bureaucracy. The award for Best Foreign Language High School Dark Comedy went to You and I are About to Die , written by Idan Shamay and Mor Lifshits. Idan Shamay from the Hebrew Reali School in Haifa directed the film, a comic drama which takes place in the confines of a stuck elevator. Two childhood friends who have not seen each other for years find themselves thrown together again, but one of them is carrying a ticking time bomb. The Hebrew Reali School is a regular presence in the winners circle, with three previous ISFFH awards in various categories.
