Biography
Dana Blankstein was born in Switzerland in 1981. She moved to Israel in 1983 and grew up in Tel Aviv.
She graduated from Sam Spiegel Film and Television School, Jerusalem in 2008 with high honors.
Dana Blankstein Cohen (born March 3, 1981) is the Executive Director of the Sam Spiegel Film and Television School. She is a cultural entrepreneur and key activist in the Israeli cultural landscape.
Dana Blankstein was born in Switzerland in 1981. She moved to Israel in 1983 and grew up in Tel Aviv.
She graduated from Sam Spiegel Film and Television School, Jerusalem in 2008 with high honors.
After her studies she went on to found and direct the film and television department at the Kfar Saba municipality. She worked with director Savi Gabizon before becoming the CEO of the Israeli Academy of Film and Television for three and a half years.
In November 2019 Dana Blankstein Cohen was appointed the director of the Sam Spiegel Film and Television School, where she also oversees the Sam Spiegel International Film Lab.
In 2022, Blankstein Cohen led the move to the Jerusalem Arts Campus in central Jerusalem from the school’s historic home in Talpiyot. She initiated and spearheaded the preparatory program for Arabic speakers from east Jerusalem, enlarging the scope of prospective students. Additionally, she expanded the reach of the International Film Lab to the world of broadcast content with the launch of the Series Lab.
Blankstein Cohen is a founding board member of "Big Sister", an umbrella organization for female film and television creators in Israel. She is also a member of the European Film Academy.
Samuel P. Spiegel was an American independent film producer born in Poland. Financially responsible for some of the most critically acclaimed motion pictures of the 20th century, Spiegel produced films that won the Academy Award for Best Picture three times, a Hollywood first for a sole independent producer.
The Sam Spiegel Film and Television School is a film and television school in Jerusalem, Israel that was founded in 1989 as the Jerusalem School of Film. it was renamed in honor of Hollywood producer Sam Spiegel in 1996 with the acquisition of his estate.
Renen Schorr is a film director, screenwriter, film producer and Israeli film activist. In 1989, he founded Israel's first independent, national school for film and television, the Sam Spiegel Film and Television School – Jerusalem, and has served as its director since that time. During the last 40 years he founded or co-founded the infrastructure of Israeli film funds and cinematheques. In December 2016 he was awarded the Chevalier des arts et lettres by the French government.
Lucy Elizabeth Fry is an Australian actress. She is known for portraying Zoey in Lightning Point, Lyla in Mako: Island of Secrets, and Lissa Dragomir in the film Vampire Academy. Fry was also cast in Hulu's eight part miniseries 11.22.63 as Marina Oswald, wife of Lee Harvey Oswald, and played the lead in the 2016 Australian horror television series Wolf Creek and Tikka in the 2017 Netflix film Bright. Since 2019, she has portrayed Stella Gigante in the Epix series Godfather of Harlem.
Yehonatan Indursky is an Israeli filmmaker and the creator of the successful Netflix series Shtisel.
Ray Panthaki is a British actor, producer, screenwriter and director best known for the roles he played in Marcella (2016-2020), Away (2020), and the movie Boiling Point (2021), for which he was nominated for the 2021 BIFA Award for Best Supporting Actor.
Talya Lavie is an Israeli filmmaker best known for her 2014 debut feature, Zero Motivation.
Dana Walden is an American businesswoman and the co-chairman of Disney Entertainment. She currently serves as a member of the President's Export Council.
Shira Haas is an Israeli actress. She initially gained national prominence for her roles in local film and television, winning two Israeli Ophir Awards out of five nominations since 2014. In 2020, she gained international acclaim for her role in the Netflix miniseries Unorthodox. For this performance, she was nominated for a Golden Globe Award and a Primetime Emmy Award. In the same year, Haas won the Tribeca Film Festival Award for Best International Actress for her performance in the Israeli drama film Asia (2020). She has since starred in the Netflix science fiction series Bodies (2023).
Tomer Capone is an Israeli actor. He has starred in a number of popular Israeli exported television such as Hostages (2013–2016), the political thriller television series Fauda (2015) and When Heroes Fly (2018). In 2016 he was awarded an Ophir Award for Best Supporting Actor in One Week and a Day. Since 2019, he has starred as Serge / Frenchie in Amazon Prime Video's superhero streaming television series The Boys.
Aimee Lou Wood is an English actress. After early stage roles in Mary Stuart (2016–2017) and People, Places and Things (2017), Wood made her screen debut on the Netflix series Sex Education (2019–2023), which won her a British Academy Television Award for Best Female Comedy Performance from two nominations. Her films include The Electrical Life of Louis Wain (2021) and Living (2022). On stage, she appeared in the likes of Uncle Vanya (2020) and Cabaret (2023).
Naomi Levari is an Israeli-German film producer and story editor.
Micheal Ward is a Jamaican-English actor and former model. His films include Blue Story (2018) and The Old Guard (2020). On television, he appeared as Jamie in the Netflix show Top Boy and The A List. Ward was awarded the 2020 BAFTA Rising Star Award.
Aurit Zamir is an Israeli filmmaker, active as a producer, director and screenwriter as well as the director of the Sam Spiegel Film and Television School International Film Lab.
Shir Shoshani is deputy school director, head of the film and television department at the Jerusalem Sam Spiegel Film and Television School, a film lecturer and first AD in the Israeli film industry.
David Prior is an American film director, screenwriter, producer, and editor best known for his work on the cult horror film The Empty Man, and television series such as Voir and Guillermo del Toro's Cabinet of Curiosities. He has also directed and produced making-of documentaries for films, most notably the works of David Fincher and Michael Bay.
Don't Move is an upcoming American horror-thriller film starring Kelsey Asbille, Finn Wittrock and Daniel Francis. It was directed by Adam Schindler and Brian Netto, and written by T.J. Cimfel and David White.
Mor Eldar is a content manager in the Israeli film and television industry.
Aleeza Chanowitz is an Israeli-American director, screenwriter and actress. She is best known for creating and starring in the hit comedy series, Chanshi on HOT 3.