The Fund for Video Art

The Israeli Fund for Video Art and Experimental Cinema was established in 2002 with the assistance of the Ministry of Culture and Sports – Film Council, and was maintained until the Film Council’s decision in 2013 to cease the support of experimental cinema.

From the early days of cinema, the mainstream industry was accompanied by another compelling field of experimental cinema, which found its outlet in the halls of museums and art-house cinemas, and not in commercial theaters. Yet the impact of these works on mainstream film-making has been truly considerable. Today, more than ever, with the technological sophistication and popularity of the genre of video art in contemporary art, the boundaries between film to video have blurred. One might say that the boundary has newly been defined as cinema which is either considered to be commercial or non-commercial.

The Israeli Fund for Video Art and Experimental Cinema has aided in the production of approximately nine artists annually working in the field of video art and experimental film in Israel. Its mandate: to help artists realize their ideas in the field, and serve as a platform to promote their work in various frameworks locally and around the world. The Fund has constituted a quantum leap for video artists and experimental filmmakers in Israel, allowing them to achieve higher, more professional production qualities than previously possible. The Fund has facilitated Israeli artists to create works that can dialogue and stand alongside their colleagues’ work in the international arena, where such funds are abundant.

In the twelve years it has operated, the Fund has helped sponsor the production of about one hundred and ten new films, including:  The Workshop, Gilad Ratman (2012) | News, Nurit Aviv ( 2012 ) | Birds, Daniel Mann (2012) | Ballad of the Romantic Double, Tom Pnini (2011) | The Sun Glows Over the Mountains, Nurit Sharett (2011) | Tov Lamut, Shai Ratner (2010) | Watermelons Under the Bed, Dor Guez (2010) | Invert, Ben Hagari (2009) | Kept Alive, Nira Pereg (2009) | Fucked Bonny, Rona Yefman (2008) | Project 588, Gilad Ratman (2008) | The Rule and the Exception to the Rule, Ohad Meromi (2008) | Mary Koszmary, Yael Bartana (2007) | Stealing Beauty, Guy Ben-Ner (2006) | Ants’ Work, Yael Bedarshi (2006) | The Heart of Amos Klein, Michal & Uri Kranot (2006) | Honor & Justice, Shahar Freddy Kislev (2005) | I Was Called Kuny Lemel, Roee Rosen (2005) | In Virgin Land, Nir Evron (2005) | No Man’s Language, Dana Levy (2004) | Beyond Guilt – Part III, Ruti Sela & Maayan Amir (2004) | Machine Moments, Chen Sheinberg (2003) | Wild Boy, Guy Ben Ner (2003) | 21:40, Boaz Arad & Miki Kratsman (2002) | Father, Doron Solomons (2002)

The 2013 recipients are:

Dani Gal – Journey on Foot in the Wilderness of Forty Years of Wandering Ori Gersht – First to Laugh Sasha Dotan – A Tourist in my Own Country Tamar Hirschfeld – Venus on the Black Continent Michal Helfman – % Malki Tesler – The Caregiver Shahar Freddy Kislev – Nature Prepares Food Ori Carmeli – The Icarus Project Ruti Sela – El Yuma Scandar Kopti – Untitled