At the opening night celebration of the 33rd Jerusalem Film Festival this week, Quentin Tarantino was received with a chorus of cheers and presented with a special award honoring his contribution to cinema. At the podium, the director began with “Wow, sababa [Hebrew slang for cool]” before taking a moment to remember visionary director and friend Michal Cimino, who passed away earlier this month.
“There is something special about receiving this prize here in Jerusalem, at the foot of the Old City, in the open air.”
The night marked the director’s first appearance at the festival, having previously visited Israel in 2009 while promoting Inglourious Basterds. Also present for the opening gala was actress Emma Suarez, star of Pedro Almodóvar’s new film Julieta
photography by Yam Viniola and Gitay Silver.