A celebrated staple of contemporary Israeli culture, and one of the foremost female forces in cinema, Ronit Elkabetz has died at 51. She succumbed to cancer today, the 19th of April 2016, after a lengthy battle with the illness. During her career in film, she gained a reputation as a most articulate, intelligent, compassionate contributor to the art form - something which I noticed upon attending a Q&A with her following the LFF screening of her final film as director, Gett: The Trial of Viviane Amsalem. That film, her third as co-director alongside brother Shlomi and her fourth as writer, received deserved international acclaim, though in this regard it was no anomaly for Elkabetz. An actor for over 25 years, she received three Ophir awards from seven nominations for her performances, alongside a further four nominations for directing and writing. She was also met with other prestigious accolades throughout her career: a Lifetime Achievement honour from the Israeli Film Academy, the France Culture Award at the 2010 Cannes Film Festival, two prizes from the Venice Film Festival, and serving as president of the Cannes Critics' Week jury last year. Among the titles she starred in are Amos Gitai's Alila, Keren Yedaya's Or and Eran Kolirin's The Band's Visit. Elkabetz is survived by her spouse, architect Avner Yasharon, and their two children. She will be missed enormously by film lovers all around the world.
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