The School of Audio and Visual Arts has long been a key factor behind Israel’s emerging film industry, helping train the country’s next generation of video artists and empowering young people in underserved communities. Now, the Israel Documentary Forum has recognized its unique contribution to that genre.

During a prize ceremony at the Ennis Cultural Center in Jaffa, the Forum bestowed a recognition award on Sapir for “its significant role in the City of Sderot and other communities in the Gaza Envelope. Now, more than ever, the School of Audio and Visual Arts is playing a vital role in the cultural, social and educational rehabilitation of the region.” In a poignant gesture, Sapir alumnus Zohar Orian Cohen received a prize for the best student film at the same event. The prize was named in memory of the late Yahav Weiner, a Sapir Faculty member who was murdered in the Hamas attack of October 7th. Cohen’s 27-minute documentary, Listen to My Voice, has already received a long list of awards for its sensitive but honest confrontation with pain and memory in the shadow of childhood abuse.

Prof. Sami Shalom Chetrit, head of the School of Audio and Visual Arts, accepted the recognition award in the name of the entire Sapir community.  “Our school,” he said, “was devastated on October 7th. Our people were murdered, wounded, kidnapped, uprooted. But we are determined to keep learning, collaborating, creating. The spirit of our academic community, deeply rooted in the life of this region, represents the best of what Israeli society has to offer.”

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