Oscar Hopes and Eurovision Questions Shape Israel’s Cultural Year Ahead

Could Bulgaria host Eurovision in 2027? The question opens the latest episode of The Jerusalem Playlist, where Ezra Taylor and Hannah Brown examine the cultural challenges facing Israel in the year ahead.

The hosts discuss new Eurovision rules stating that a country may lose eligibility to host if it is involved in armed conflict, facing a sensitive geopolitical situation or dealing with circumstances that could affect regional security and stability. The rules were widely seen as potentially relevant to Israel. Taylor and Brown also consider whether Bulgaria could face questions after Iran threatened the country over its decision to allow U.S. aircraft to refuel there.

The conversation places Netta Barzilai within Israel’s Eurovision story. Barzilai, who won the contest for Israel in 2018, remains the last Israeli artist to take the title.

The episode then turns to Israeli cinema and Tell Me Everything, directed by Moshe Rosenthal. The film follows a family in the 1980s and 1990s, after a young boy discovers that his father is gay while preparing for his bar mitzvah during the height of the AIDS epidemic. Brown says the story explores the fear, confusion and trauma that follow inside the family.

Tell Me Everything has received 16 Ophir Award nominations. The awards are considered Israel’s equivalent of the Oscars, and their Best Picture winner becomes Israel’s official submission for consideration in the Academy Awards’ Best International Feature category. The episode closes with Venice, including discussion of Nasa, a new film by two creators of No Other Land, and the broader presence of Israeli films at a festival where filmmakers have often explored identity, politics and conflict.