Israeli wins top doc prize at Tribeca

Israeli director Alma Har’el took top honors at the Tribeca Film Festival in the documentary category.

“Bombay Beach,” her feature-length film, follows three down-and-out residents of a ghost town on the Salton Sea, a surrealistic landscape in Southern California filled with losers and dreamers.

Har’el, a Tel Aviv native now living in the United States, took home $25,000 in prize money. She describes herself as a video artist and music video director.

The judges were unanimous in their decision, which was announced April 28. They praised the “Bombay Beach” to reporters for its “beauty, lyricism, empathy and invention.”  — jta