Who is Nadav Lapid, Israeli filmmaker who criticised 'The Kashmir Files' as ‘propaganda’

Nadav Lapid, 47, the director behind critically-acclaimed films like Synonyms and Ahed's Knee.

Israeli filmmaker Nadav Lapid is at the centre of a controversy for using his position as jury head of the 53rd International Film Festival of India (IFFI) to criticise The Kashmir Files. Lapid had termed "The Kashmir Files" as “vulgar” while calling it a “propaganda movie” at the closing ceremony of IFFI in Goa on Monday night. In his speech, the director said he was “disturbed and shocked” to see the film being screened at the festival.

His remarks were condemned by the Israeli envoy to India, Naor Gilon, who said that Lapid had abused India’s invitation to chair the jury of the International Film Festival of India.

"The Kashmir Files", released in theatres on March 11, was part of the Indian Panorama Section at IFFI and was screened on November 22. Written and directed by Vivek Agnihotri and produced by Zee Studios, the film depicts the exodus of Kashmiri Hindus from Kashmir following the killings of people from the community by Pakistan-backed terrorists.

Who is Nadav Lapid?

Nadav Lapid, 47, is an Israeli screenwriter and film director – one of the country’s most famous, whose body of work has earned him international fame and recognition.

He was born in Tel Aviv, Israel on April 8, 1975 to writer Haim Lapid and film editor Era Lapid. Both his parents have collaborated with him on various projects. Lapid is of Ashkenazi Jewish descent.

He currently lives in Tel Aviv with his partner, actress Naama Preis, and their son, according to Haaretz.

Bitten by the movie bug

Lapid studied philosophy at Tel Aviv University and went on to serve in the Israel Defense Forces. After completing his mandatory conscription, he moved to Paris, where he discovered his passion for filmmaking in his mid-twenties.

Lapid eventually returned to Israel to pursue a degree at the Sam Spiegel Film and Television School in Jerusalem. He is today counted among the school’s most famous alumni.

Lapid's movies have political undertones

Nadav Lapid is known for offering socio-political commentary on the state of affairs in Israel through his work.

His first feature film, Policeman, was released in 2011 and won the Locarno Festival Special Jury Prize at the Locarno International Film Festival that year. Policeman also won multiple awards at the 2011 Jerusalem Film Festival. A piece on the film review website Roger Ebert describes Policeman as “a measured indictment of Israel’s incongruities.”

Lapid followed it up with The Kindergarten Teacher in 2014. The film was screened at the International Critics’ Week at Cannes and won several awards, both in Israel and abroad. It was remade in English with Maggie Gyllenhaal in 2018.

His third project, Synonyms, was released in 2019 and is one of his most critically-acclaimed films. Synonyms won the Golden Bear award at the 69th Berlin International Film Festival, which is the festival’s most prestigious prize.

The success of Synonyms brought international fame to Lapid. The 47-year-old filmmaker, in a 2019 interview with Haaretz, spoke about how the film offered a critique on Israel through its protagonist Yoav.

“He [Yoav] describes a country that is also miserable, evil, idiotic, and his intention was also mine: to insult the Israelis,” said Lapid. “You love your country so much, you are convinced that everyone needs to love it, and I wanted to say: ‘Look, I’m Israeli and I can hate Israel, say terrible things about it and curse it without end.’”

Lapid’s 2021 film Ahed’s Knee premiered at Cannes, where it won the jury prize. Like his earlier works, Ahed’s Knee contains a searing critique of the Israeli government that works in tandem with the filmmaker’s love for his homeland.

“I felt that the Israeli state had become unbearable for me,” Lapid told Deadline while talking about the movie. “However, when I watched this movie I was still amazed that my intimacy towards Israel was sneaking in and penetrating the fame.”

He's won several awards and accolades

Lapid’s debut film Policeman won the Locarno Festival Special Jury Prize at the Locarno International Film Festival in 2011.

For Synonyms (2019), he received the Golden Bear award at the 69th Berlin International Film Festival in February 2019.

Ahed’s Knee won the jury prize at Cannes Film Festival in 2021. Lapid is also a recipient of the Chevalier des Arts et des Lettres.

With such accolades to his name, Lapid has served in several international film festival juries. He was a member of the jury of the International Critics' Week section of the 2016 Cannes Film Festival. He was also a member of the 'Official Competition' jury at the 71st Berlin International Film Festival in 2021.

This year, he was the head of jury at the 53rd International Film Festival of India (IFFI), where his remarks on "The Kashmir Files" snowballed into a controversy.