Israeli filmmaker Nir Bergman won the Best Director award Saturday at the Black Nights Film Festival in Tallinn, Estonia, for his film Pink Lady.
The film, a co-production between Israel and Italy, is based on a script by Mindi Ehrlich, a formerly ultra-Orthodox woman, and explores themes of faith, love and acceptance within an ultra-Orthodox Jewish community.
Pink Lady follows Battie and Lazer, a married ultra-Orthodox couple from Jerusalem raising three children, whose lives unravel after photos surface of Lazer kissing another man. As Battie discovers that Lazer is being blackmailed by a local gang, the couple’s financial stability, social standing and faith are pushed to the brink. The film stars Nur Fibak, Uri Blufarb, Sara von Schwarze, Michal Weinberg and Gal Malka.
Accepting the award alongside Ehrlich, Bergman addressed the film’s central theme, saying, “They love each other very much and think that if God created Lazer gay, He can change that. By the end, we realize that if God created Lazer gay, He loves him just as much. We hope the film will make a difference in the ultra-Orthodox community and perhaps around the world.”
Bergman also acknowledged the ongoing WAR in Israel and called for the release of hostages held in Gaza. “What is really important to us at this moment is that the 101 hostages are released and return home, and that the war ends now,” he said. Ehrlich dedicated the award to her family and to those still living in secrecy in her former community. “They deserve love, passion, and freedom,” she said.
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The jury, led by German filmmaker Christoph Hochhäusler, praised Bergman’s work, describing Pink Lady as “a masterclass in expert direction.” They highlighted its “delicate performances, sincere emotional depth and precision,” calling it “an artist’s workshop with effortless direction.”
Bergman, 55, is an acclaimed filmmaker known for Broken Wings (2002), Intimate Grammar (2010), Yona (2014), Saving Neta (2017) and Here We Are (2020), which was selected for the canceled Cannes Film Festival program. He is also celebrated for his work on the TV series Meorav Yerushalmi, Be’Tippul (In Treatment), Walk the Dog and Rising High.
The Black Nights Film Festival, now in its 28th year, is one of Europe’s most prominent film events and has a tradition of highlighting Israeli cinema. Other Israeli works featured this year included Eran Riklis’ thriller Reading Lolita in Tehran, starring exiled Iranian actresses Golshifteh Farahani and Zar Amir Ebrahimi, and Michal Cohen’s documentary Full Support. Last year, Maya Koenig’s drama The Milky Way received a commendation at the festival’s review week.