Israel’s half-century jinx at the Oscars continued when “Ajami,” a gritty film about the Jewish-Arab tensions in the mixed quarter of Jaffa, lost out March 7 for best foreign language film at the Academy Awards.
The award went to Argentina’s entry, “The Secret in Their Eyes (El Secreto de Sus Ojos),” directed by Juan José Campanell.
“Ajami” — a box-office hit in Israel last year — opens Friday, March 12, at the Embarcadero Center Cinema in San Francisco and Shattuck Cinemas in Berkeley. It played in New York and Los Angeles in February, and also screened last month in the East Bay International Film Festival in Pleasant Hill.
Although “Ajami” and three Jewish-themed films vying for best picture were passed over at the Oscars, Christoph Waltz won the best supporting actor award for his portrayal of Hans Landa, aka “the Jew Hunter,” in “Inglourious Basterds.” That film, the Coen brothers’ “A Serious Man” and the British drama “An Education” were among the 10 films nominated for best picture.
“Ajami” was a joint production of two young Israeli filmmakers, Scandar Copti, a Christian Arab, and Yaron Shani, a Jew. Just hours before the Oscars ceremony, Copti said he was not representing Israel.
“I am not the Israeli national team and I do not represent Israel,” Copti said in an interview on Israel’s Channel 2. “It is an extremely technical thing. That’s how it works in the Oscars. It says ‘Israel’ because the funding comes from Israel. There’s a Palestinian director, an Israeli director, Palestinian actors and Israeli actors. The film technically represents Israel, but I don’t represent Israel.”
Israel’s Culture and Sports Minister Limor Livnat criticized Copti’s remarks.
“The film ‘Ajami’ was produced and received an Oscar nomination thanks to funds from the State of Israel, which Scandar Copti now tries to renounce,” Livnat said. “Without the state’s support, Copti would not be walking on the red carpet tonight.”
It was the third consecutive Oscars in which an Israeli film nominated for best foreign language film left empty-handed. The Lebanon war-themed films “Beaufort” and “Waltz with Bashir” were considered leading contenders before being passed over in 2008 and 2009, respectively.
“Ajami” was one of the five finalists nominated in the best foreign language film category. It was the winner of the Golden Camera at the 2009 Cannes Film Festival. The two-hour film is in Arabic and Hebrew with English subtitles. — jta