Israeli Culture Minister Miki Zohar has announced he is pulling state funding for the country’s Ophir Awards after drama The Sea , which focuses on the struggles of a Palestinian boy living under occupation in the West Bank, won the top prize.

Under Israel ’s protocol, the winner of the Best Film Ophir is automatically put forward as Israel’s Oscar candidate.

The production spearheaded by Israeli filmmaker Shai Carmeli-Pollak and Palestinian producer Bahaer Agbarian, follows Khaled, a 12-year-old Palestinian boy living in the landlocked West Bank on his way to visit the sea for the first time in his life, until at the checkpoint, the Israeli authorities deny his entry.

Determined to fulfil his dream, he sneaks into Israel and embarks on a dangerous journey to the coast, dodgin

See Full Page