Famous Israeli Directors

Vote for Your Favourite Israeli Directors

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 1 
Ralph Bakshi
(Director of Animated Films)
Ralph Bakshi
3
Birthdate: October 29, 1938
Sun Sign: Scorpio
Birthplace: Haifa
Animation filmmaker Ralph Bakshi revolutionized the domain of animation through adult-oriented projects. He started his career with Terrytoons and eventually launched his own studio. Some of his features include Fritz the Cat, the 1978 version of The Lord of the Rings, and the series Mighty Mouse: The New Adventures.
 2 
Neil Druckmann
(Best known for his work on the Uncharted and The Last of Us video game franchises)
Neil Druckmann
0
Birthdate: December 5, 1978
Sun Sign: Sagittarius
Birthplace: Israel
 3 
Raviv Ullman
(Best Known for Playing Phil Diffy in the Disney Channel Series 'Phil of the Future')
Raviv Ullman
3
Birthdate: January 24, 1986
Sun Sign: Aquarius
Birthplace: Eilat, Israel

The Phil of the Future star Raviv Ullman irked netizens when, in 2017, he posted an old picture of him kissing Kim Kardashian, from an unsold pilot, adding the hashtag #kanyegotmysloppyseconds. Ullman is also a skilled musician, has been part of several bands, and hosts a podcast, too.

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 4 
Oren Peli
(film director, film producer, screenwriter, film editor, writer, engineer, actor)
Oren Peli
2
Birthdate: March 23, 1971
Sun Sign: Aries
Birthplace: Ramat Gan

Oren Peli is an Israeli-American film producer, director, and screenwriter. He is best known for directing the 2007 American supernatural horror film Paranormal Activity. He is also credited with co-creating a supernatural adventure horror TV series titled The River. A former computer software programmer, Oren Peli was one of the developers of a bitmap graphics editor called Photon Paint.

 5 
Gideon Raff
(Israeli Film Director Best Known for His Creation of the Channel 2 Thriller Drama Series 'Prisoners of War')
Gideon Raff
2
Birthdate: September 10, 1972
Sun Sign: Virgo
Birthplace: Jerusalem

Gideon Raff is an Israeli film director, writer, and screenwriter. He is credited with creating the popular Israeli television drama series Prisoners of War. He then went on to co-develop the American version of the thriller TV series Homeland. Over the course of his illustrious career, Gideon Raff has won several prestigious awards like Primetime Emmy Award and Edgar Award.

 6 
Menahem Golan
(Film director, Film producer, Screenwriter)
Menahem Golan
2
Birthdate: May 31, 1929
Sun Sign: Gemini
Birthplace: Tiberias
Died: August 8, 2014

Menahem Golan was an Israeli screenwriter, film producer, and director best remembered for co-owning The Cannon Group, which comprised many companies including the popular film production company Cannon Films. By the time of his death, Golan had produced more than 200 films featuring popular actors like Sean Connery. He had also won eight Kinor David awards and the Israel Prize.

 7 
Michael Lucas
(Adult Film Star, Director)
Michael Lucas
2
Birthdate: March 10, 1972
Sun Sign: Pisces
Birthplace: Moscow, Russia

Michael Lucas is a Russian-Israeli-American film director, businessman, journalist, and gay pornographic film actor. He is credited with founding Manhattan's largest gay-adult-film company Lucas Entertainment where he also serves as the CEO. Lucas has also contributed as a columnist for publications like HuffPost and The Advocate. Michael Lucas was made an inductee of the GayVN Hall of Fame in 2009.

 8 
Ronit Elkabetz
(Israeli Actress, Screenwriter and Film Director)
Ronit Elkabetz
2
Birthdate: November 27, 1964
Sun Sign: Sagittarius
Birthplace: Beersheba, Israel
Died: April 19, 2016

Ronit Elkabetz was an Israeli actress, film director, and screenwriter. A critically acclaimed actress and director, Elkabetz received several prestigious awards during her lifetime. She received three Ophir Awards as well as the Cannes Film Festival's France Culture Award. In 2010, she received a lifetime achievement award for her contribution to Israeli cinema from the Israeli Film Academy.

 9 
Hany Abu-Assad
(Palestinian-Dutch Film Director)
Hany Abu-Assad
2
Birthdate: October 11, 1961
Sun Sign: Libra
Birthplace: Nazareth, Israel

Hany Abu-Assad is a Palestinian film director who has been nominated for the Academy Award twice. Born in Israel, he immigrated to the Netherlands, where he studied aerodynamics. He worked as an airplane engineer for several years before beginning his film career. He joined the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences in 2014. 

 10 
Hagai Levi
(Screenwriter)
Hagai Levi
1
Birthdate: July 2, 1963
Sun Sign: Cancer
Birthplace: Israel

Hagai Levi is an Israeli writer, director, and producer. He graduated from the Tel Aviv university’s film and TV department. One of his early projects was the feature film August Snow that he wrote, directed, and co-produced. He received a Golden Globe Award for co-creating and co-producing the TV drama The Affair. He is a film critic as well. 

 11 
Ari Folman
(Israeli Film Director, Screenwriter, Animator and Film-Score Composer)
Ari Folman
1
Birthdate: December 17, 1962
Sun Sign: Sagittarius
Birthplace: Haifa, Israel

Ari Folman is an Israeli film director, animator, and screenwriter. He was born to Holocaust survivors in Israel. He studied at Tel Aviv University's department of film and television and began his career producing documentaries. He directed the documentary film Waltz with Bashir, based on the aftermath of the 1982 Sabra and Shatila massacre. 

 12 
Elia Suleiman
(Film director)
Elia Suleiman
1
Birthdate: July 28, 1960
Sun Sign: Leo
Birthplace: Nazareth, Israel

Elia Suleiman is a Palestinian film director. His 2002 film Divine Intervention won the Jury Prize at the 2002 Cannes Film Festival. Early in his career, he co-directed the experimental documentary Introduction to the End of an Argument.  He has also directed many feature films. In addition to his entertainment career, he is a professor at the European Graduate School.  

 13 
Assi Dayan
(Israeli Film Director, Actor, Screenwriter, and Producer)
Assi Dayan
1
Birthdate: November 23, 1945
Sun Sign: Sagittarius
Birthplace: Nahalal, Israel
Died: May 1, 2014

Assi Dayan was an Israeli actor, director, screenwriter, and producer. He was the son of Israeli defense minister Moshe Dayan and peace activist Ruth Dayan. He began his career as an actor and appeared in many TV shows and films. He then made his directorial debut and gained acclaim in the field of direction as well.  

 14 
Kamel El Basha
(Film director)
Kamel El Basha
1
Birthdate: March 14, 1962
Sun Sign: Pisces
Birthplace: East Jerusalem, Jerusalem

Kamel El Basha is a Palestinian actor and theater director. He is best known for his portrayal of Yasser Abdallah Salameh in the 2017 Lebanese legal drama film The Insult for which he was honored at the 74th Venice International Film Festival with the prestigious Volpi Cup for Best Actor. He also works as a professor in many Palestinian universities.

 15 
Juliano Mer-Khamis
(Actor and Filmmaker Known for Establishing 'The Freedom Theatre')
Juliano Mer-Khamis
0
Birthdate: May 29, 1958
Sun Sign: Gemini
Birthplace: Nazareth, Israel
Died: April 4, 2011

A passionate believer in the Palestinian cause, Juliano Mer-Khamis was an Israeli-Palestinian actor, theatre director and filmmaker, known especially for his 2004 documentary film, Arna's Children. Also the founder of the Jenin Freedom Theatre, he was a symbol of the bi-national dream, advocating cooperation between Palestine and Israel. Assassinated in 2011, he stood firmly against religious dogma and gender oppression.

 16 
Ibtisam Mara'ana
(Israeli Arab Politician and Film Director)
Ibtisam Mara'ana
1
Birthdate: October 14, 1975
Sun Sign: Libra
Birthplace: Fureidis, Israel

Israeli-Arab film maker and Labor politician, Ibtisam Mara'ana is known for her documentaries that examine various aspects of Palestinian and Israeli society, especially showcasing the plight of Arab-Palestinians living as a minority within Israel, concurrently criticizing their deep-rooted practices. In 2021, She was elected to the Knesset as a member of the Labor Party

 17 
Yehuda Barkan
(Director)
Yehuda Barkan
1
Birthdate: March 29, 1945
Sun Sign: Aries
Birthplace: Netanya, Israel
Died: October 23, 2020

Yehuda Barkan was an Israeli actor, screenwriter, director, and producer. He is best known for producing and directing a series of prank films in the 1980s; he filmed these films using a hidden camera. A multi-talented personality, Barkan also had a brief music career when he was part of a band named Dizengoff Command Band, which consisted of military veterans.

 18 
Larissa Sansour
(Artist)
Larissa Sansour
0
Birthdate: 1973 AD
Birthplace: East Jerusalem, Jerusalem

Larissa Sansour is a popular Palestinian artist and filmmaker, especially known for her science fiction trilogy of shorts: A Space Exodus (2009), Nation Estate (2012), and In the Future, They Ate from the Finest Porcelain (2019). Also an ace photographer and installation artist, she has held several exhibitions across USA, Europe and Asia.

 19 
Samira Saraya
(Actress)
Samira Saraya
0
Birthdate: December 15, 1975
Sun Sign: Sagittarius
Birthplace: Haifa, Israel

Samira Saraya is an Israeli-Palestinian actor, rapper, filmmaker, poet, and spoken word artist. Over the years, she has won several prestigious awards including the best screenplay award at the TLVFest. Saraya is also an important activist; she is credited with co-founding a feminist organization called Aswat which aims at changing the perception of the LGBT community in Palestine.

 20 
Leila Sansour
(Director)
Leila Sansour
0
Birthdate: February 16, 1966
Sun Sign: Aquarius
Birthplace: Moscow, Russia

Known for her 2003 feature film, Jeremy Hardy vs. the Israeli Army, Leila Sansour, is more than an acclaimed film director. Raised in Bethlehem as a Palestinian Roman Catholic, she is the founder of a NGO called Open Bethlehem, striving to protect her city's heritage. She documented the effect of the newly-built wall through her latest film, also called Open Bethlehem.