42nd time: Jerusalem International Film Festival
Jerusalem International Film Festival - Israel's largest, leading, and longest-running film event will mark its 42nd edition this year. The festival team is proud to announce that international Israeli star Gal Gadot will be the guest of honor at the festival and will receive an honorary award on stage during the opening night at Sultan's Pool on July 17, in front of an audience of 6,000 people.
Gadot, a supermodel, producer, and one of the most successful actresses in Israel and around the world, has established her status in recent years as the biggest international star to come from Israel, leading unprecedented hit films. In March 2025, she became the first Israeli to be honored with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.
The honorary award will be given to Gadot for her contribution to the international film world and her impressive success over nearly two decades of work. She gained fame primarily due to her remarkable international career, and her activities in Hollywood have opened doors for Israeli creators around the world while raising awareness of Israeli culture on the international stage.
The festival team stated: "The choice of Gal Gadot as the guest of honor for the 42nd edition is natural and clear. Gal began her journey here in Israel and became one of the most recognized international stars in the world, while maintaining a deep connection to her Israeli roots. Gal is not only a global star but also a cultural ambassador for Israel and Israeli cinema. At the Jerusalem Film Festival, where we celebrate the best of Israeli and world cinema, there is no one more suitable than Gal to receive this honorary award."
Alongside Gal Gadot, producer Lawrence Bender ("Pulp Fiction," "Good Will Hunting") will also receive an honorary award and be a guest of honor at the opening night on July 17. Bender is one of the most significant voices in Hollywood for three decades, with his films having been nominated for 37 Academy Awards, winning nine. He gained recognition for his fruitful partnership with director Quentin Tarantino and for producing the film "Reservoir Dogs" (1992).
Since then, he has produced several films that have become groundbreaking and influential in contemporary cinema, from "Pulp Fiction" and "Good Will Hunting" to "Kill Bill" and the Netflix hit "Bitter Revenge." Bender also produced the Oscar-winning short film "Two Strangers," and several documentary films, the most notable being "An Inconvenient Truth" (2006), which won the Oscar for Best Documentary Feature and raised global awareness about climate change.
The Jerusalem International Film Festival will present a rich artistic program, including dozens of premieres of films from around the world, the first exposure of the best Israeli cinema, as well as talked-about films that have won awards at leading festivals worldwide, including Berlin, Cannes, Venice, Sundance, and others. The 42nd edition of the Jerusalem Film Festival will open on July 17 (Thursday) as per tradition, with an event at Sultan's Pool, under the open sky, before an audience of 6,000 viewers and guests.
The 42nd festival is led by Roni Mahdav-Levin, Director of the Jerusalem Cinematheque and Festival Manager, with artistic direction by Or Sigoli. The Jerusalem Film Festival is held with the support of the Ministry of Culture, the Van Leer Foundation, the Jerusalem Foundation, and the Jerusalem Municipality.
Full details on the opening event, artistic program, screening times, and ticket bookings will later appear on the festival's official website: .
(Photo: Courtesy of the Jerusalem Film Festival)
