Zadok "Duki” Dror ( he, דוקי (צדוק) דרור), (born 1963) is an independent
Israeli
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 ...
filmmaker whose films explore issues of migration, identity and displacement.
Biography
Zadok (Duki) Dror was born in Tel Aviv. In the early 1950s, Dror's parents fled from their native
Iraq for the newly established state of
Israel. When Dror's father was 17 he was arrested on charges of political activism and served five years in prison as a political prisoner. Upon his release, he was not allowed to stay in Iraq. After moving to Israel, the family changed their Arabic name, Darwish (Arabic for "wandering") to Dror (Hebrew for "freedom").
Dror studied in the United States at
UCLA and is a graduate of
Columbia College Chicago
Columbia College Chicago is a Private college, private art college in Chicago, Illinois. Founded in 1890, it has 5,928https://about.colum.edu/effectiveness/pdf/spring-2021-student-profile.pdf students pursuing degrees in more than 60 undergra ...
.
Filmmaking career
Dror's films are character-driven stories and deal with issues of identity, displacement and cross-cultural exchange.
His film ''Sentenced to Learn'' (1993), which tells the story of lifetime inmates in
Illinois prisons, was screened in the
Pompidou Center in
Paris as part of an American Documentary retrospective.
The story behind his parents'
immigration to Israel and his father's story in particular is the central motif in Dror's personal film diary ''My Fantasia''
(2000) which takes place in the Dror's family-owned Menorah factory between the First and Second Gulf War. The history, culture and identity of Arab Jews has also informed a number of Dror's other work including ''Cafe Noah'' (1996),
and ''
Shadow in Baghdad
''Shadow in Baghdad'' is a 2013 documentary film directed by Duki Dror. The film chronicles the story of Linda Abdul Aziz Menuhin, an Israeli citizen who fled her native Iraq in the 1970s, and her connection with a young Iraqi journalist who reac ...
'' (2013) about the disappearance of Baghdad's Jewish population and the story of
Linda Menuhin
Linda Abdul Aziz Menuhin (born 1950; , ) is an Iraqi-born Israeli journalist, editor, and blogger who has written for Arab news. Menuhin was a refugee to Israel in the 1970s and has been nicknamed, the "Anne Frank of Iraq". She previously served ...
's family.
In 2010,
PBS aired a special series of his documentaries.
Awards and recognition
''Raging Dove'' (2002), the story of Arab-Israeli world boxing champion Johar Lashin, which premiered at the
SXSW
South by Southwest, abbreviated as SXSW and colloquially referred to as South By, is an annual conglomeration of parallel film, interactive media, and music festivals and conferences organized jointly that take place in mid-March in Austin, Te ...
Film Festival and won multiple awards, including Best Israeli Documentary in
Docaviv. In 2006, Dror's film about the
Vietnamese boat people who immigrated to Israel, ''The Journey of
Vaan Nguyen
Vaan Nguyen ( he, ואן נויין; born Nguyễn Thị Hồng Vân; April 18, 1982) is an Israel, Israeli poet, Actor, actress, journalist and Activism, social activist.
Early life
Nguyen is the daughter of Vietnamese refugees, who were par ...
'', was the opening film at EBS Film Festival in Seoul and received the Remi Award at Houston Worldfest. In 2012, Dror's film on German-Jewish architect Erich Mendelsohn ''
Mendelsohn's Incessant Visions'' received the Golden Award(FILAF d'Or) at the
International Art Book and Film Festival (FILAF) in France. ''Partner with the Enemy'' (2014) the winner of the Golden Panda Award for long documentary at
Sichuan Television Festival. ''Down The Deep, Dark Web'' (2016) – premiered in
DOK Leipzig
DOK Leipzig is a documentary film festival that takes place every year in Leipzig, Germany. It is an international film festival for documentary and animated film founded in 1955 under the name "1st All-German Leipzig Festival of Cultural and Doc ...
, nominated for the
Ophir Award for Best Documentary under 60 minutes.
Filmography
Director
*1993 Sentenced to Learn
*1996 Radio Daz
*1997 Warp & Wef
*1997 Cafe Noa
*1998 Shenkin – A Street of Fait
*1998 Stress
*1999 Taqasim
*1999 Red Vibes
*2000 Watchman
*2001 My Fantasia
*2002 Raging Dove
*2004 Mr. Cortisone Happy Days
*2005
The Journey of Van Nguyen
*2007 SideWal
*2009
Across the River (film), Across the River
*2011
Mendelsohn's Incessant Visions
*2013
Shadow in Baghdad
''Shadow in Baghdad'' is a 2013 documentary film directed by Duki Dror. The film chronicles the story of Linda Abdul Aziz Menuhin, an Israeli citizen who fled her native Iraq in the 1970s, and her connection with a young Iraqi journalist who reac ...
*2014 Partner with the Enemy
*2016 Down the Deep, Dark Web
*2017 Inside The Mossad (TV series)
*2018 Inside The Mossad (The Movie)
Producer
*2003 Paradise Lost
*2004 Collaborators
*2005 A General's Story
*2012 Seekers
*2013 Photonovela
*2016 Praise the Lard
References
External links
"You have to be on the move all the time" Interview with Duki Dror at Takriv MagazineDuki Dror at New York Times Archive*
Shadow in Baghdad: Israeli filmmaker Duki Dror chronicles extinction of Iraq’s Jewish community. Baltimore Examiner BY LARRY LUXNER · NOVEMBER 29, 2013
35 Years on, where are Israel’s Vietnamese refugees? The Times of Israel, By
Simona Weinglass
''The Times of Israel'' is an Israeli multi-language online newspaper that was launched in 2012. It was co-founded by Israeli journalist David Horovitz, who is also the founding editor, and American billionaire investor Seth Klarman. September 20, 2015
Review: 'Down the Deep Dark Web' is a movie every technologist should watch TechRepublic By Dan Patterson , July 13, 201
The Dangers of the Deep Web– The Atlantic 4.8.2016
The Dangers of the Deep WebThe Atlantic 4.8.2016
*
alking With the Past: Architect Erich Mendelsohn on Screen''GALO Magazine'' by Ross Ufberg February 7, 2012
Incessant Visions: words from the life of Erich Mendelsohn The Times of Israel By Rocco Giansante MAY 3, 2012
* FIFA 2012: Mendelsohn's Incessant Visions is a great film and not just for architecture buffs
Montreal Gazette March 24, 2012
Mendelsohn Building Spurs Monumental DilemmaHaaretz
''Haaretz'' ( , originally ''Ḥadshot Haaretz'' – , ) is an Israeli newspaper. It was founded in 1918, making it the longest running newspaper currently in print in Israel, and is now published in both Hebrew and English in the Berliner f ...
Keshet Rosenblum Dec 19, 2012
ERICH MENDELSOHN – VISIONEN FÜR DIE EWIGKEIT – KRITIK DER FILMSTARTS-REDAKTIONShadow In Baghdad Official Film WebsiteZygote Films official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Dror, Duki
Israeli film directors
1963 births
Living people
Film people from Tel Aviv
Columbia College Chicago alumni