Summer Vacation is the debut film by David Volach, a self-taught filmmaker who did not receive formal training in cinema, and it garnered rave reviews. Uri Klein wrote in
Haaretz: "My immediate reaction to
Summer Vacation is surprise and excitement, even shock. This is a complete and mature work by a true artist who seems to have emerged in Israeli cinema from nowhere." Meir Schnitzer wrote in
Maariv that it is "a great cinematic creation... an artistic miracle." Shmulik Duvdevani on Ynet remarked, "Rarely does a film come out of nowhere, without prior warning, leaving you astonished and awestruck." The film received four
Ophir Award nominations at the 2007 Ophir Awards ceremony, including Best Feature Film for Eyal Shiray, Best Leading Actor for Assi Dayan, Best Original Screenplay for David Volach, and Best Cinematography for Boaz Yehonatan Yaakov. In addition to these nominations, the film won several prestigious awards. David Volach was awarded Best Director and Boaz Yehonatan Yaakov received Best Cinematography at the Ophir Awards. Volach also won the Best Director award at the Taormina Film Festival. At the Haifa International Film Festival, the film earned accolades for Best Direction (Volach) and Best Cinematography (Yaakov). Lastly, it secured the award for Best Feature Film at the
Tribeca Film Festival. In February 2008, a DVD version of the film was released, featuring a 25-minute conversation between Volach and the film's producer, Eyal Shiray, discussing the film's themes, its biographical connections to Volach, and its unique cinematic style. ==Cast==