a substantial amount for a domestic Israeli film. Since its release, it was viewed by over 300,000 viewers in Israel. Awards and nominations Cedar won the Silver Bear in the Berlin International Film Festival for directing Beaufort, and the film was also nominated for the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film, the first such nomination for an Israeli film since Beyond the Walls (1984) and the seventh overall. In Israel it won 4 Ophir Awards—Best Cinematography, Best Film Editing, Best Artistic Design and Best Soundtrack. It was also nominated for Best Picture, although the award went to The Band's Visit, making Beaufort the first film directed by Cedar to not win this award. The Band's Visit'''s status as a foreign language film in the Academy Awards was rejected because it contains over 50% dialogue in English, which caused the runner-up Beaufort to become Israel's submission instead. Controversies The casting has raised serious public criticism in Israel, especially from families of slain soldiers and war veterans, given the fact that some of the actors did not serve in the Israeli army (Army service is compulsory in Israel, although some people are exempt). Cedar commented that the actors had to spend a month at an actual outpost preparing for their roles, and "Israel may be the only place where actors are expected to have actual combat experience when playing soldiers in a movie." It was rumored that it was the filmmakers of Beaufort who brought to the Academy's attention the ineligibility, on language grounds, of The Band's Visit. Beaufort''s makers denied this rumor. Cast See also South Lebanon conflict References External links Beaufort original soundtrack at MySpace indieWIRE review 2007 films Israeli war drama films 2000s Hebrew-language films Films based on Israeli novels Films based on military novels Films about the Israel Defense Forces Films set in castles South Lebanon conflict (1985–2000) Films set in 2000 Israeli–Lebanese conflict films Films directed by Joseph Cedar Films set in bunkers