The Sea

Ha'Yam

Drama

Toronto premiere
June 6
9:15pm
In Person
Al Green Theatre
June 15
- June 17
Online
Online at TJFF Virtual Cinema
COUNTRY
Israel
Year
2025
Running Time
93 minutes
Language
s
Arabic
,Hebrew
Subtitles
English
Director
Shai Carmeli-Pollak

Winner of five Ophir Awards and Israel’s submission to the Academy Awards, this poignant drama follows Khaled, a 12-year-old Palestinian boy determined to see the Mediterranean Sea for the first time. After soldiers at a checkpoint declare his permit invalid and send him home while his classmates continue their school trip, Khaled sets out alone to reach the sea. Lost, unable to speak Hebrew, and unfamiliar with the route, he faces growing dangers. When his father Ribhi, an undocumented labourer in Israel, realizes Khaled is missing, he leaves his job to search for him, risking arrest and his livelihood. “A moving father-son tale in the vein of Bicycle Thieves.” (Alissa Simon, Variety)

Guest

Director Shai Carmeli-Pollak

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Reviews

“A deeply humanist tale about borders, permits, the interdependent economies of two neighbors and the power of the dominant language.” Variety

“Carmeli-Pollak has created a film that has universal resonance.” Midnight East

Awards & Festivals
Winner – Best Film, Best Screenplay, Best Actor, Best Supporting Actor and Best Music, Ophir Awards 2025

Winner – Best Ensemble and Best Original Score, Jerusalem Film Festival 2025

Critics Jury Prize, Miami Jewish Film Festival 2026

Emerging Filmmaker Jury Award, Atlanta Jewish Film Festival 2026

Mar del Plata Film Festival 2025
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