Asaf Epstein (; born August 1, 1978) is an Israeli film director, writer and producer.

Biography

Asaf Epstein was born in

Israel Israel, officially the State of Israel, is a country in West Asia. It Borders of Israel, shares borders with Lebanon to the north, Syria to the north-east, Jordan to the east, Egypt to the south-west, and the Mediterranean Sea to the west. Isr ...

on August 1, 1978, to Lea and Hanan Epstein. He is the older brother of Efrat and Roni Epstein. When he was a young boy, the family relocated to

Fort Worth, Texas Fort Worth is a city in the U.S. state of Texas and the county seat of Tarrant County, Texas, Tarrant County, covering nearly into Denton County, Texas, Denton, Johnson County, Texas, Johnson, Parker County, Texas, Parker, and Wise County, Te ...

, where Epstein attended a private Jewish school. The family then relocated back to the town of

Modiin Modi'in-Maccabim-Re'ut ( ''Mōdīʿīn-Makkabbīm-Rēʿūt'') is a city located in central Israel, about southeast of Tel Aviv and west of Jerusalem, and is connected to those two cities via Highway 443. In the population was . The populati ...

in Israel. There, he attended junior high school. In 1995, the family relocated back to the United States and settled in

Dallas, Texas Dallas () is a city in the U.S. state of Texas and the most populous city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the List of Texas metropolitan areas, most populous metropolitan area in Texas and the Metropolitan statistical area, fourth-most ...

, where Epstein attended J. J. Pearce High School in Richardson. During his early twenties, Epstein left his family in the United States and relocated back to

on his own to enlist in the

Israeli Defense Forces Israeli may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to the State of Israel * Israelis, citizens or permanent residents of the State of Israel * Modern Hebrew, a language * ''Israeli'' (newspaper), published from 2006 to 2008 * Guni Israeli (b ...

, where he took on a desk job in the

Air Force An air force in the broadest sense is the national military branch that primarily conducts aerial warfare. More specifically, it is the branch of a nation's armed services that is responsible for aerial warfare as distinct from an army aviati ...

. In the early 2000s, Epstein enrolled to study

film A film, also known as a movie or motion picture, is a work of visual art that simulates experiences and otherwise communicates ideas, stories, perceptions, emotions, or atmosphere through the use of moving images that are generally, sinc ...

Tel Aviv University Tel Aviv University (TAU) is a Public university, public research university in Tel Aviv, Israel. With over 30,000 students, it is the largest university in the country. Located in northwest Tel Aviv, the university is the center of teaching and ...

Career

After graduating from university, Epstein produced independent corporate promotional clips making use of various animated elements. In 2008, he took part in the production of two Israeli films; ''The Other War'', a drama set in Tel-Aviv during the

second Lebanon war The 2006 Lebanon War was a 34-day armed conflict in Lebanon, fought between Hezbollah and Israel. The war started on 12 July 2006, and continued until a United Nations-brokered ceasefire went into effect in the morning on 14 August 2006, thoug ...

, and ''Jaffawiye'', a documentary about the multicultural hip-hop band ''System Ali''. In 2010, Epstein produced ''Mother's Fading'', a short film drama about the complex relationship between a mother and her son. In 2011, he began production on his award-winning

sci-fi Science fiction (often shortened to sci-fi or abbreviated SF) is a genre of speculative fiction that deals with imaginative and futuristic concepts. These concepts may include information technology and robotics, biological manipulations, space ...

, thriller comedy short entitled ''

Schnitzel Schnitzel () is a thin slice of meat. The meat is usually thinned by pounding with a meat tenderizer. Most commonly, the meat is breaded before frying. Breaded schnitzel is popular in many countries and is made using veal, pork, Chicken as foo ...

,'' which he wrote, produced and directed. ''Schnitzel'' tells the tale of a young teenage boy and his encounter with an extra terrestrial being which has taken the form of a

schnitzel Schnitzel () is a thin slice of meat. The meat is usually thinned by pounding with a meat tenderizer. Most commonly, the meat is breaded before frying. Breaded schnitzel is popular in many countries and is made using veal, pork, Chicken as foo ...

. In a 2016 interview, Epstein remarked that ''Schnitzel'' was inspired by

Steven Spielberg Steven Allan Spielberg ( ; born December 18, 1946) is an American filmmaker. A major figure of the New Hollywood era and pioneer of the modern blockbuster, Spielberg is widely regarded as one of the greatest film directors of all time and is ...

's ''E.T.'', and his experience of being an "awkward and goofy kid being uncomfortable in his own skin" and a school field trip during which he and his classmates were given schnitzels for lunch. In July 2014, he released ''Schnitzel'' which earned him numerous awards at festivals around the world including ''Best International Film'' at the South Carolina Cultural Film Festival, ''Best Science Fiction Film'' at the Hyart Film Festival and ''Best International Coming-of-Age'' at the

Manhattan Film Festival The Manhattan Film Festival (MFF) is an annual film festival that was founded in 2006 by filmmakers Philip J. Nelson and Jose Ruiz Jr. Notable films and awards * In 2011, the festival screened ''White Irish Drinkers'', a film written and directed ...

in 2015. Later that year, he would go on to win ''Best Producer of a Foreign Language Film'' at the Madrid International Film Festival.

Filmography

External links

* * *
Asaf Epstein
podcast from the ''Madrid International Film Festival'' *

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Epstein, Asaf 1978 births Living people Film people from Tel Aviv Israeli film directors Israeli film producers Israeli filmmakers Israeli male screenwriters Tel Aviv University alumni Place of birth missing (living people)