Lawrence Bender to be honored at Israel FF in LA,

A LETTER TO DAVID, WINNER OF THE ISRAELI ACADEMY OPHIR AWARD FOR BEST DOCUMENTARY, WILL HAVE ITS LOS ANGELES PREMIERE AS THE OPENING NIGHT FILM

Award-winning film and television producer Lawrence Bender (Pulp Fiction, Inglorious Basterds, Good Will Hunting, Red Alert) will receive the 2026 Israel Film Festival Visionary Award at the 37^th ISRAEL FILM FESTIVAL in Los Angeles Opening Night Gala on February 4, 2026 at the Saban Theatre in Beverly Hills. The evening will also host the Los Angeles Premiere of A Letter to David, directed by Tom Shoval, winner of this year’s Israeli Academy Ophir Award for Best Documentary, announced Meir Fenigstein, Founder and Executive Director of the Israel Film Festival. The Festival will take place February 4^th – 19^th.  The February 4^thOpening Night Gala is sponsored by NATAL, and held at the Saban Theatre, Beverly Hills. NATAL is Israel's leading trauma-focused organization, providing comprehensive services to individuals, families, and communities impacted by war, terror, and violence. The ISRAEL FILM FESTIVAL will screen films at the Regal North Hollywood and the Fine Arts Theatre (Beverly Hills). Visit www.israelfilmfestival.com in mid-January for a full schedule of festival screenings and to purchase tickets.

“The Israel Film Festival in Los Angeles continues to express the enduring spirit of the Israeli people, and its creative arts and talented communities,” noted Fenigstein. “As we celebrate our 37^th year screening outstanding Israeli feature films, and thought-provoking documentaries, we recognize that our benefactors, sponsors, and the diverse audiences of our city continue to embrace and support the very best that Israel offers. This includes Tom Shoval’s award-winning documentary A Letter to David, a haunting and beautiful film about Israeli David Cunio, who was taken from Nir Oz kibbutz on October 7^thand held hostage in Gaza. We are also extremely pleased to honor film and television producer Lawrence Bender whose productions have enthralled and captivated people around the world.”

Bender has produced highly successful films over three decades, with a worldwide box office exceeding one billion dollars. His work includes Pulp Fiction, Inglourious Basterds, and Good Will Hunting, earning 37 Academy Award nominations and nine wins. The climate change documentary An Inconvenient Truth won the Oscar for Best Documentary Feature. In 2020, he produced the Peabody-winning Cops and Robbers and Oscar-winning Two Distant Strangers. He executive produced Red Alert, a Paramount+ series released in October 2025, dramatizing the terrorist invasion that turned southern Israel into a war zone. The action drama follows ordinary people forced to become heroes during the crisis. Other notable films include The Harder They Fall, Hacksaw Ridge, Kill Bill Vol. 1 & 2, and Reservoir Dogs. With partner Kevin Brown, Bender has produced numerous television projects, including Roswell, New Mexico, Emmy winning Seven Seconds, and Golden Globe-nominated Flesh and Bone.

In A Letter to David, filmmaker Tom Shoval crafts a personal cinematic letter to David Cunio, who was abducted from Nir Oz to Gaza on October 7th and was released after 738 days in captivity. Ten years ago, David and his twin brother Eitan starred in Shoval's award-winning debut feature film Youth (Berlinale 2013), which focused on the powerful bond between brothers and, in a tragic and unimaginable twist of fate, revolved around a kidnapping. Through unedited behind-the-scenes footage and audition tapes from Youth, Shoval builds a multi- layered documentary that explores the inexplicable connections between life and cinema, memory and reality, and the catastrophic consequences of war. The film was directed and written by Tom Shoval. The Producers are Alona Refua, Maya Fischer, Roy Bareket, and Nancy Spielberg. The Executive Producers are Roi Kurland, Gal Greenspan, Len Blavatnik, Emily Blavatnik, Jay Ruderman, Rinat Klein Maron, Dorit Hessel, and Moshe Edery. The Cinematography is by Yaniv Linton. The Editors are Margarita Linton and Maya Kenig. The Original Music is by Asher Goldschmidt. The Production Companies are Green Productions and Playmount Productions. A Letter to David is the Winner of the Israeli Academy Ophir Award for Best Documentary 2025 and screened at Berlinale International Film Festival, Germany as a Berlinale Special, 2025.

The mission of the ISRAEL FILM FESTIVAL is to highlight Israel as the lively and innovative nation that it is, as well as to shine a spotlight on its thriving film and television industry and enrich the American experience of Israel’s social and cultural diversity. The ISRAEL FILM FESTIVAL is produced by IsraFest Foundation, Inc., a 501 (c)(3) non-profit organization created in 1982. Some of the 37th ISRAEL FILM FESTIVAL in Los Angeles sponsors are:

Mattel Inc, Adelson Family Foundation, Variety, Regal, The Jewish Federation Los Angeles, The Steve Tisch Family Foundation, David & Sheryl Wiener and Family, Molly & Israel Weinberg, Israel American Council (IAC), Hanna Rubinstein, INSYNC Plus, Ruth Flinkman Marandy & Ben Marandy, Jordana Reuben Yechiel, and OUTFRONT, among others.