Avraham Heffner (‎; 7 May 1935 – 19 September 2014) was an Israeli film and television

director Director may refer to: Literature * ''Director'' (magazine), a British magazine * ''The Director'' (novel), a 1971 novel by Henry Denker * ''The Director'' (play), a 2000 play by Nancy Hasty Music * Director (band), an Irish rock band * ''D ...

screenwriter A screenwriter (also called scriptwriter, scribe, or scenarist) is a person who practices the craft of writing for visual mass media, known as screenwriting. These can include short films, feature-length films, television programs, television ...

, author and

Professor Emeritus ''Emeritus/Emerita'' () is an honorary title granted to someone who retirement, retires from a position of distinction, most commonly an academic faculty position, but is allowed to continue using the previous title, as in "professor emeritus". ...

at the

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 ...

. He was a recipient of the

Ophir Award The Ophir Awards (), full name: the Israel Film Academy Award, sometimes also known as the Israeli Oscars or the Israeli Academy Awards, are film awards for excellence in the Israeli film industry awarded by the Israeli Academy of Film and Tele ...

for lifetime achievements.

Biography

Heffner graduated from the

Hebrew Reali School The Hebrew Reali School of Haifa (), located in Haifa, Israel, is one of the country's oldest private schools.Haifa Haifa ( ; , ; ) is the List of cities in Israel, third-largest city in Israel—after Jerusalem and Tel Aviv—with a population of in . The city of Haifa forms part of the Haifa metropolitan area, the third-most populous metropolitan area i ...

and served in the IDF with the Nahal Army Band. After his IDF service, he studied French literature at the Sorbonne, Paris. His love for the cinema began, according to him, at the age of 17. He began his career as an actor (in

Uri Zohar Uri Zohar ( ; 4 November 1935 – 2 June 2022) was an Israeli film director, actor and comedian who left the entertainment world to become an orthodox rabbi. Biography Uri Zohar was born in Tel Aviv. His parents were History of the Jews, Polis ...

's '' Hor BaLevana''). His first movie as director was '' Slow Down'' (1967), an adaptation of a short story by

Simone de Beauvoir Simone Lucie Ernestine Marie Bertrand de Beauvoir (, ; ; 9 January 1908 – 14 April 1986) was a French existentialist philosopher, writer, social theorist, and feminist activist. Though she did not consider herself a philosopher, nor was she ...

, which won him the

Silver Lion The Silver Lion (, also known as Silver Lion for Best Direction) is an annual award presented for best directing achievements in a feature film in the official competition section of the Venice Film Festival since 1998. The prize has been awar ...

Award at the 1969

Venice Film Festival The Venice Film Festival or Venice International Film Festival (, "International Exhibition of Cinematographic Art of the Venice Biennale") is an annual film festival held in Venice, Italy. It is the world's oldest film festival and one of the ...

. In the 1960s and the 1970s he was among the Israeli directors creating more personal and social films (in the "New Sensitivity" genre), films that were influenced from the

Avant-garde In the arts and literature, the term ''avant-garde'' ( meaning or ) identifies an experimental genre or work of art, and the artist who created it, which usually is aesthetically innovative, whilst initially being ideologically unacceptable ...

-European cinema. The most significant example of these types of films is Heffner's first feature, '' But Where Is Daniel Wax?'', which he wrote and directed. ''But Where Is Daniel Wax?'', Heffner's most important and famous film, is considered by film critics and Israeli film researchers to be the best Israeli movie of all time. Two other films of his, '' Aunt Clara'' (1977) and '' Laura Adler's Last Love Affair'', are considered to be a eulogy to the old

Yiddish Yiddish, historically Judeo-German, is a West Germanic language historically spoken by Ashkenazi Jews. It originated in 9th-century Central Europe, and provided the nascent Ashkenazi community with a vernacular based on High German fused with ...

speakers, European Jews who live in Israel. ''Aunt Clara'', a semi-autobiographical film about Heffner's own family, tells the story of three Poland-born aunts in Israel, who are looking after their young nieces. ''Laura Adler's Last Love Affair'' is a eulogy to the Israeli Yiddish theater and its old actors. The television film he created in 1998, '' Eretz Ktana, Ish Gadol'' 'Small Country, Great Man'' is a cynical look at the ever-changing State of Israel of the 1990s and the

Zionist Zionism is an Ethnic nationalism, ethnocultural nationalist movement that emerged in History of Europe#From revolution to imperialism (1789–1914), Europe in the late 19th century that aimed to establish and maintain a national home for the ...

myths, which in Heffner's opinion, are now gone. Heffner lectured for many years on filmmaking and screenwriting at the

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 ...

. In 2004, Heffner won the

for his life-time of achievements in

Israeli Cinema Cinema of Israel () refers to film production in Israel since its founding in 1948. Most Israeli films are produced in Hebrew, but there are productions in other languages such as Arabic and English. Israel has been nominated for more Academy ...

. His films are held at the Jewish film archives. Heffner died on 19 September 2014.

Influence

Heffner was a screenwriting lecturer in the mid-1970s at the

, and influenced many well-known Israeli filmmakers such as Eitan Green, Renen Shor,

Ari Folman Ari Folman (; born December 17, 1962) is an Israeli film director, screenwriter, animator, and film-score composer. He directed the Oscar-nominated animated documentary film '' Waltz with Bashir'' (2008) and the live-action/animated film '' The ...

, Hagai Levi, Menashe Noy and

Dover Kosashvili Dover Kosashvili (, ka, დოვერ ქოსაშვილი; born 8 December 1966) is an Israeli film director and screenwriter of Georgian-Jewish descent. He has directed five films since 1998. His film, '' Late Marriage'', was screen ...

Filmography

*'' Slow Down'' (Short film, 1968) *''Seance'' (Short film, 1969) *'' But Where Is Daniel Wax?'' (1972) *''Aunt Clara'' (1977) *''The Winchell Affair'' (1979) *'' Laura Adler's Last Love Affair'' (1990) *''Eretz Ktana, Ish Gadol'' 'Small Country, Great Man''(1998)

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Heffner, Avraham 1935 births 2014 deaths Israeli film directors Hebrew Reali School alumni Ophir Award winners