This article needs additional citations for verification .(June 2017) |
Sam Spiegel Film and Television School בית הספר סם שפיגל לקולנוע ולטלוויזיה | |
---|---|
Address | |
Menora St. 3, Jerusalem, Israel | |
Information | |
School type | Film school |
Established | 1989 |
Founder | Renen Schorr |
Principal | Dana Blankstein Cohen |
Years offered | 4 |
Language | Hebrew |
Campus type | Urban |
Website | https://www.eng.jsfs.co.il/ |
The Sam Spiegel Film and Television School (Hebrew : בית הספר סם שפיגל לקולנוע ולטלוויזיה) 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.
As of August 2024. the school’s executive director is Dana Blankstein Cohen. [1]
In September 2022 the school moved from its historic location in the Talpiot neighborhood to the new Jerusalem Arts Campus [2] in central Jerusalem.
In 1988, a student protest took place at the film department of the Beit Zvi School of Art in Ramat Gan, then the sole film school supported by the state. Charging that Beit Zvi School of Art gave preference to the acting track, the film students demanded independence. The Education and Culture Minister at the time, President Yitzhak Navon established a public inquiry that supported their claims. He then decided to create a new independent school for film and television, the first of its kind in Israel. [1]
The mayor of Jerusalem, Teddy Kollek, and Ruth Cheshin, president of the Jerusalem Foundation, committed to match government funding. In July 1989, Ruth Cheshin charged film director Renen Schorr with the task of making this new school a reality. The school opened in Jerusalem in November 1989. [3]
It was renamed in honor of Hollywood producer Sam Spiegel in 1996, with the support of the Sam Spiegel Estate. [4]
In November 2019 the board of directors appointed Dana Blankstein Cohen to head the school. [1]
In June 2021 Shir Shoshani was appointed deputy school director & head of the film and television department.[ citation needed ]
The school’s alumni include Rama Burshtein, Nadav Lapid, Talya Lavie, Tom Shoval, Nir Bergman, Noah Stollman, Yehonatan Indursky, Amichai Chasson, Elad Keidan and Ra'anan Alexandrowicz.[ citation needed ]
The Sam Spiegel Film and Television School has been a member of international film and television association CILECT since 2001.[ citation needed ]
In September 2022 the school moved from its historic location in the Talpiot neighborhood to the new Jerusalem Arts Campus in central Jerusalem. The new building is a seven-story state-of-the-art building that includes a sound stage, 21 editing suites and three cinemas that are open to the public.
The school has been the subject of some 190 tributes and retrospectives in 55 countries at international festivals, including the Museum of Modern Art in New York (1996), the Rotterdam Festival (1997), the Havana Festival (1999), the Moscow Festival (1999), the Valladolid Film Festival (Spain, 2000), FIPA Festival - Biarritz (France, 2004) the Berlin International Film Festival (2004, 2019), the Hamptons Festival (2005) and the Clermont-Ferrand International Short Film Festival in France (2005), and Sarajevo Film Festival (2008). In 2016 the Faculty of Asian and Middle Eastern Studies at University of Cambridge held a tribute to the school. [5]
The school's films have won 420 international and local prizes, [6] including twice the First Prize at the Cannes Film Festival. [7] In 2008 Anthem, by Elad Keidan was awarded First Prize in the Student Film competition at the Cinéfondation section. This marked the first ever such win by an Israeli student film in Cannes, and in 2015 Or Sinai won for her film Anna. [8] [9]
In 2023 the school's documentary “Before Bedtime” took first place in the CILECT Prize. [10]
In August 2023 the school was listed on the Hollywood Reporter’s list of 15 best global film schools. [11]
The school currently has 180 students studying in two tracks: a four-year curriculum covering all aspects of filmmaking such as directing, editing, producing, and cinematography, in addition to theoretical studies, and a two-year track for screenwriters, including a specialization in writing for television.
Around 40 student films are produced at the school each year.
In February 2022 a preparatory program for Arabic speakers from East Jerusalem was opened. The curriculum includes Hebrew language, general art and cultural concepts as well as introductory film classes. The second edition of the program began in June 2023.
The Sam Spiegel International Film Lab [12] was launched in December 2011, with the goal of fostering the development and production of full-length feature films by some of the world’s most promising young talents. [13] The Lab became the third film lab of its kind in the world, along with The Sundance Institute and The TorinoFilmLab in Italy. In 2015, the lab developed the Academy Award-winning film Son of Saul by László Nemes. [14] In May 2023 the Lab celebrated its first decade and recognized its alumni including Nadav Lapid, whose The Kindergarten Teacher (2014 film) was developed at the 1st edition of the Lab and went on to a remake starring Maggie Gyllenhaal; Antoneta Kusijanovic 2021 Caméra d'Or winner for the Lab developed Murina (film); and Abner Benaim whose Lab developed Plaza Catedral was Panama’s entry to the Oscars in 2021. The director of the Labs is Mor Eldar.
In 2021 the Sam Spiegel Series Lab was launched in partnership with Netflix and Paramount Pictures. [15] The Series Lab accepts eight Israeli projects who work over a period of six months with mentors, including Hagai Levi, and then travel to Los Angeles for presentation to the US industry. The second edition of the Series Lab began in May 2023.
The Cannes Film Festival, until 2003 called the International Film Festival, is an annual film festival held in Cannes, France, which previews new films of all genres, including documentaries, from all around the world. Founded in 1946, the invitation-only festival is held annually at the Palais des Festivals et des Congrès. The festival was formally accredited by the FIAPF in 1951.
Samuel P. Spiegel was an American independent film producer. 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.
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.
Keir David Peters Gilchrist is a Canadian actor. On television, he portrayed Marshall Gregson on the Showtime comedy-drama United States of Tara (2009–2011) and headlined the Netflix comedy-drama Atypical (2017–2021). His film roles include the comedy-drama It's Kind of a Funny Story (2010) and the supernatural horror It Follows (2014). Outside of his acting career, Gilchrist is the vocalist of grindcore band Whelm and death metal band Phalanx.
László Nemes is a Hungarian film director and screenwriter. His 2015 debut feature film, Son of Saul, was screened in the main competition at the 2015 Cannes Film Festival, where it won the Grand Prix. He is the first Hungarian director whose film has won a Golden Globe for Best Foreign Language Film. Son of Saul is the second Hungarian film to win the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film. In 2016, Nemes was a member of the main competition jury of the 2016 Cannes Film Festival.
The Short Film Palme d'Or is the highest prize given to a short film at the Cannes Film Festival. Since the creation of the Cinéfondation section in 1998, a common Official Jury awards the Short Film Palme d'Or as well as the prizes for the three best films of the Cinéfondation.
The 66th Cannes Film Festival took place from 15 to 26 May 2013. American filmmaker Steven Spielberg was the Jury President for the main competition. French actress Audrey Tautou hosted the opening and closing ceremonies.
Syllas Tzoumerkas is a Greek film director, screenwriter, and actor.
Yehonatan Indursky is an Israeli filmmaker and the creator of the successful Netflix series Shtisel.
Talya Lavie is an Israeli filmmaker best known for her 2014 debut feature, Zero Motivation.
The 69th Cannes Film Festival took place from 11 to 22 May 2016. Australian filmmaker George Miller was the president of the jury for the main competition. French actor Laurent Lafitte was the host for the opening and closing ceremonies.
Yaelle Kayam is an Israeli filmmaker and journalist.
The 70th Cannes Film Festival took place from 17 to 28 May 2017, in Cannes, France. Spanish filmmaker Pedro Almodóvar was the president of the jury for the main competition. Italian actress Monica Bellucci hosted the opening and closing ceremonies. Swedish filmmaker Ruben Östlund won the Palme d'Or, the festival's top prize, for his comedy-drama film The Square.
Babak Jalali is an Iranian–British film director and producer, notably directing Radio Dreams, for which he won the Hivos Tiger Award at the 45th International Film Festival Rotterdam.
Dana Blankstein Cohen 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.
Naomi Levari is an Israeli-German film producer and story editor.
Dea Kulumbegashvili is a Georgian film director and writer, of Ossetian origin. She is known for her 2020 film Beginning, which won and was nominated for numerous awards.
Aurit Zamir is an Israeli filmmaker, active as a screenwriter, producer, and educator as well as the former director of the Sam Spiegel Film and Television School International Film Lab and co-founder and director of the Series 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.
Mor Eldar is a content manager in the Israeli film and television industry.
{{cite web}}
: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)