Bettelheim and Michaeli created the film about a mother and child as their graduation project. The film is “classically animated and beautifully rendered in black and white drawings. Suspended between reality and fantasy, Howl evokes the isolation, uncertainty, and feelings of a parent raising a child who is different”. (Midnight East.com)

“We worked on this film for a year and a half,” says Bettelheim, “and it’s great to see all the hard work starting to pay off, especially so soon after finishing it. We feel encouraged by winning this award, and we hope that it will lead to many more opportunities to make films.”

Dudi Rubin (27) and Daniel Sasson (27), also recent graduates, received an honorable mention in this category for their film, Loof, an animated horror film about Sgt. Buchris, who out of boredom, defiles the sanctity of Yom Kippur at the Cave of the Patriarchs and causes a dark resurrection of the nation's forefathers.

“It was super-satisfying to be rewarded for something that came out of great passion and was made with so much fun,” says Rubin. “We hope that this movie will be only the start of many things to come. We both want to continue creating animated films and to have fun in the process. We’d like to thank Bezalel for great support during the creation of this film, and also a great deal of moral support.”

Saleh Diab and Yoni Gueta, who met at Bezalel during their third year, collaborated on the film, Loom, and received an honorable mention in the Best Independent Film category.

According to Professor Hanan Kaminski, head of Bezalel’s Animation Department, the students worked long and hard on their graduation films. “These magnificent, creative films are works of love and dedication and their efforts are now reaping the rewards,” he said. “We are extremely proud of our students and we hope that these accolades are the beginning of long and successful careers in animation for all of them,” he says.

Bezalel animation students have won over 80 awards over the past 10 years, most recently at the Nice Israeli Film Festival and the Athens Animfest 2011. On my doorstep by Anat Costi, one of Bezalel’s graduates, was chosen to be screened in the Cannes Film Festival this year. Bezalel’s showreel was chosen to compete in the next Ottawa international animation festival for the Best School of Animation.

“This is testament to the quality of the work that comes out of Bezalel,” says Kaminski. “It also reinforces the Academy’s status as one of the leading institutions of its kind in the world.”