The closing nights at the Cannes Film Festival was a momentous one for Israel. Filmmakers Shira Geffen and her husband Etgar Keret (better known for his prolific career as a novelist) were awarded one of Cannes' top prizes, the Camera D'Or.

The prize is given to the best feature film produced by a first time filmmaker. Entitled Meduzot, or Jellyfish, the film tells the interwining stories of three women who live near the beach in Tel Aviv. Geffen wrote the script and Keret co-directed.

With over 30 films contending in th category, the competion was steep. When the couple learned that their film won the award, they could barely contain their disbelief.

In an interview with the Army Radio, Keret explained why he felt his film was such a long shot for the coveted prize. "Generally, the judges are very political and extreme. There were 33 other films, and ours was an urban fairy tale without any outstanding characteristc. The judges spoke with us after the film and were happy to tell us they saw somehting different in our film - real people, not items from CNN. It seems to have worked in our favor."

Meduzot also garnered othe rsmaller awards at the festival, including a French Actor's Union award. Though Geffen and Keret haven't formulated their future filmmaking plans yet, they will be off to a good start with the prestige of the prize behind them and a 50,000 euro grant from the festival. THe festival also allocated 160,000 euro toward the promotion of Meduzot in France.

Isralei director Keren Yedaya was the last Israeli to win the Camera d'Or category, in 2004, with Or. Eran Kolirni's Orchestra Visit, shich stars Sasson Gabai and Ronit Elkabetz, also won two minor awards in Cannes this year.

Indeed this year has provem truly remarkable for ISraeli filmmakers. An Israeli won a major award at nearly every major international film festival. At Berlin's festival, Joseph Cedar wom the coveted Golden Bear for his direction of Beaufort. David Volach won the prize for feature films at Tribeca's Film Festival with My Father, My Lord, and Dror Shaul's Sweet Mud won the Best World Feature at Sundance.

The Israeli fim industry is transforming itself in terms of quality and quantity, and the world seems to be taking notice.