Israel's biggest documentary festival and one of the world's 28 Oscar-qualifying festivals, Docaviv, has announced the titles in its Israeli Competition and the opening film for its 21st edition, which takes place from 23 May-1 June.

The festival will open with Picture of His Life [+lee también:
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The film is one of the 15 titles selected for the Israeli Competition, out of 77 submissions. The section features a total of 12 world premieres, including Barak Heymann's Loving Dov, The Viewing Booth by Ra'anan Alexandrowicz (best known for the Sundance winner The Law in These Parts), Zohar Wagner’s 21 Days Inside, Duki Dror's There Are No Lions in Tel Aviv [+lee también:
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The competition also includes the Israeli premieres of Advocate [+lee también:
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In addition, two Israeli films will have their world premieres in the Depth of Field Competition: Resonance [+lee también:
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Over 120 new local and international documentaries will be screened at the festival, making it the largest film festival in Tel Aviv, and the only one dedicated exclusively to documentaries. Last year, on its 20th anniversary, the festival set an all-time attendance record of 60,000 visitors and was subsequently chosen by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences as one of the world’s 28 Oscar-qualifying festivals.

This year, the Mifal Hapais Council for Culture and Arts will earmark up to €36,000 for the marketing and promotion of the winner of the Israeli Competition at Docaviv in preparation for the Oscars. The new prize will be awarded alongside the Howard Gilman Award for Best Israeli Documentary, worth €17,000, making it Israel’s largest prize for documentary filmmaking. Other trophies include the Special Jury Award, the Mayor’s Award for Best Debut Film and the Yossi Kaufman Best Director Award, as well as the Editing, Cinematography and Research Awards.