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Israeli film director Shai Carmeli-Pollak has a striking image pinned to the wall of his office in Kfar Sava. The picture, designed by his late friend and artist Dudu Geva, depicts a cartoon duck being pierced open with a knife.

“It is like what’s happening now. An apocalypse,” he tells The Independent. “He has many knives stuck in his body but is still optimistic. That’s how I feel.”

He has reason to feel both joy and fear. Last week, his film The Sea swept up five trophies at Israel’s national film awards, The Ophirs, including the top prize for Best Picture.

open image in gallery ‘The Sea’ follows the story of 12-year-old Palestinian Khaled (Muhammad Gazawi), who dreams of seeing the Mediterranean for the first time in his life ( Jerusalem Film Festival )

It follows the story of a 12-year-old Palestinian boy Khaled, played by Muhammad Gazawi, who dreams of seeing the Mediterranean for the first time in his life. However, he is turned away at a military checkpoint while on a school trip, due to what authorities say is an inv