Culture Minister Miki Zohar on Sunday threatened to cut off all state funding to the film industry amid an ongoing spat over his attempt to stage an alternate movie awards ceremony.

“I will work — already tomorrow — to cancel the Film Law and to end funding the film industry to the tune of NIS 130 million a year, and they can make the films they want to, the way that they want to, on their own dime, and not with public money,” Zohar, a member of the ruling Likud party, declared in an interview with the right-wing Channel 14.

Zohar said the decision was being made after figures in the industry are trying to push a widespread boycott of the alternative film awards he set up in protest of the prizes handed out at this year’s Ophir Awards, which is run by the Israeli Academy of Film and decides Israel’s Oscar submission each year.

The minister was outraged after the top award this year was given to the film “The Sea,” about a Palestinian boy. The film was submitted to the Oscars for consideration as best foreign film, but did not make the short list.

Zohar accused some in the film industry of trying to........

© The Times of Israel