As expected, Ilan de Vries has been officially appointed to follow Lia Van Leer as the new director of the Jerusalem Film Festival, the Jerusalem Cinematheque and the Israeli Film Archive.

De Vries, who has been associated in the past with the Jerusalem institution and was viewed for a while as the heir apparent to van Leer, had left the organisation to work in commerical TV, independnet film productions and recently to manage Jerusalem's prestigious guesthouse for artists, Mishkanoth Shaananim.

But he has always kept in close contact with the Cinematheque, and is therefore familiar with both the staff that will be working under him and the problems he will be facing.

The most urgent right now is finding funds to cover the cost of the extensive overhaul the Cinematheque facilities have undergone in the last year and upgrade the entire operation of its Film Archive. Founder Van Leer will continue to chair the Board of Directors.

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