Michal Bat-Adam ( he, מיכל בת-אדם; born March 2, 1945) is an Israeli film director, producer, screenwriter, actress, and musician. Her films deal with complex and conflicted relationships, especially relationships within families. She also explores the line between sanity and mental illness. Many of these movies contain autobiographical elements. As an actress, she has been noted for her work, especially for strong performances in the films of her husband,

Moshé Mizrahi Moshé Mizrahi ( he, משה מזרחי; 5 September 1931 – 3 August 2018) was an Israeli film director. Biography He was born in Egypt, migrated to Mandatory Palestine in 1946, and studied filmmaking in France in 1950. He directed the Oscar-w ...

Early life

Michal Bat-Adam was born in

Afula Afula ( he, עפולה Arabic: العفولة) is a city in the Northern District of Israel, often known as the "Capital of the Valley" due to its strategic location in the Jezreel Valley. As of , the city had a population of . Afula's ancient ...

, Israel to parents Yemima and Adam Rubin, who had immigrated from

Warsaw Warsaw ( pl, Warszawa, ), officially the Capital City of Warsaw,, abbreviation: ''m.st. Warszawa'' is the capital and largest city of Poland. The metropolis stands on the River Vistula in east-central Poland, and its population is official ...

in 1939. While she was a young child, the family lived in Haifa. Yemima suffered from mental illness, and had trouble caring for her family. When Michal was six and a half years old, she was sent to join her older sister Netta at Kibbutz Merhavia in the

Harod Valley The Harod Valley ( he, עמק חרוד, Emek Harod) is a valley in the Northern District of Israel. It is the eastern part of the Jezreel Valley,a transitional zone that extends to the Beit She'an Valley. From south it locked by Mount Gilboa and ...

. While living there, both sisters changed their last name to Bat-Adam ("daughter of Adam"). At 17, Michal left the kibbutz and returned to care for her mother. Originally wanting to be a musician, Bat-Adam studied at the Tel Aviv Academy of Music. After developing an interest in theater, she auditioned and was accepted to the Beit Zvi School of Performing Arts in

Ramat Gan Ramat Gan ( he, רָמַת גַּן or , ) is a city in the Tel Aviv District of Israel, located east of the municipality of Tel Aviv and part of the Tel Aviv metropolitan area. It is home to one of the world's major diamond exchanges, and man ...

and turned her attention to acting. During her early acting career Bat-Adam performed in leading roles at the Habimah National Theater, the Cameri Theater and the Haifa Theater.

Career

In 1972 Bat-Adam was cast in the title role in Moshe Mizrahi's film '' I Love You Rosa''. The film was nominated for an

Academy Award The Academy Awards, better known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international film industry. The awards are regarded by many as the most prestigious, significant awards in the entertainment in ...

for Best Foreign Language Film and entered into the

1972 Cannes Film Festival The 25th annual Cannes Film Festival was held from 4 to 19 May 1972. The Palme d'Or went to the Italian films '' The Working Class Goes to Heaven'' by Elio Petri and '' The Mattei Affair'' by Francesco Rosi. The festival opened with the French fi ...

. The role launched Bat-Adam's career as a film actress. After a short-lived first marriage, Bat-Adam and Mizrahi married. She continued to act in several of Mizrahi's movies, including; ''

The House on Chelouche Street ''The House on Chelouche Street'' () is a 1973 semi-autobiographical film by Israeli director Moshé Mizrahi, filmed in Hebrew, Egyptian Arabic and Judeo-Spanish (a.k.a. Ladino, a Jewish language mostly derived from Old Castilian). The film was no ...

'' (1973), ''

Daughters, Daughters ''Daughters, Daughters'' ( he, Abu el Banat) is a 1973 Israeli film directed by Moshé Mizrahi. It was entered into the 1974 Cannes Film Festival. Plot Cast * Shaike Ophir - Sabbatai Alfandari * Zaharira Harifai - Bianca Alfandari * Joseph Shi ...

'' (1973), and ''Women'' (1996). She appeared in Mizrahi's Academy Award-winning French film, ''

Madame Rosa ''Madame Rosa'' (french: La vie devant soi) is a 1977 French drama film directed by Moshé Mizrahi, adapted from the 1975 novel '' The Life Before Us'' by Romain Gary. It stars Simone Signoret and Samy Ben-Youb, and tells the story of an elderly J ...

'' in 1977. Bat-Adam was living in Paris in the late 1970s when she began her career as a

screenwriter A screenplay writer (also called screenwriter, scriptwriter, scribe or scenarist) is a writer who practices the craft of screenwriting, writing screenplays on which mass media, such as films, television programs and video games, are based. ...

and director. Her first film was a French-Israeli co-production, '' Moments'' (1979), released in the United States under the title ''Each Other''. According to film scholar Gwendolyn Audrey Foster, ''Moments'' explores a lesbian relationship between two actresses in an "oblique, experimental manner", using cinematic devices such as memory flashbacks to construct and deconstruct their relationship. Gwendolyn Audrey Foster, 1995, Greenwood Press, Westport (CT) & London, ''Women Film Directors: An International Bio-Critical Dictionary'', Retrieved December 15, 2014, see page(s): 35 In addition to writing and directing, Bat-Adam cast herself in the film, which explores an intense, tempestuous friendship between two women. The film received favorable reviews, as well as a great deal of publicity, due to its frank depiction of the complicated relationship, including a scene in which she is in bed with actor

Assi Dayan Assaf "Assi" Dayan ( he, אסף "אסי" דיין; 23 November 1945 – 1 May 2014) was an Israeli film director, actor, screenwriter, and producer. Life Dayan was the youngest son of Israeli general and defense minister Moshe Dayan and peace ac ...

and the French actress

Brigitte Catillon Brigitte Catillon (born 20 July 1951) is a French actress and screenwriter. She was nominated for the César Award for Best Supporting Actress in 1993 for ''A Heart in Winter'' directed by Claude Sautet. She was also nominated for the Molière ...

. Following ''Moments'', Bat-Adam worked on two films that have autobiographical themes, '' The Thin Line'' (1980), which recalls a mother struggling with mental illness, and '' Boy Meets Girl'' in 1982. This film, shot on

Kibbutz A kibbutz ( he, קִבּוּץ / , lit. "gathering, clustering"; plural: kibbutzim / ) is an intentional community in Israel that was traditionally based on agriculture. The first kibbutz, established in 1909, was Degania. Today, farming h ...

Ma'ayan Tzvi Ma'ayan Tzvi ( he, מַעְיַן צְבִי, ''lit.'' Zvi's Spring) is a kibbutz in northern Israel. Located near Zikhron Ya'akov, it falls under the jurisdiction of Hof HaCarmel Regional Council. In it had a population of . History The kibbutz ...

, draws from Bat-Adam's memories of a young girl left by her parents at a kibbutz. In the late 1980s, Bat-Adam directed two literary adaptations, '' The Lover'' (1986) and '' A Thousand and One Wives'' (1989). For television she worked on a drama, ''The Flight of Uncle Peretz'' (1993). She returned to autobiographical elements for later films, '' Aya: Imagined Autobiography'' (1994) and ''Maya'' (2010). Although still active as a

film-maker Filmmaking (film production) is the process by which a Film, motion picture is #Production, produced. Filmmaking involves a number of complex and discrete stages, starting with an initial story, idea, or commission. It then continues through scr ...

and actress, Bat-Adam now teaches at Tel Aviv University and Camera Obscura. She also performs poetry recitals and has recorded a CD of her reading, set to music.

Work as actress

*''Ha-Pritza Hagdola'' (1970) *'' I Love You Rosa'' (1972) - Rosa *''

'' (1973) *''

'' (1973) - Esther Alfandari *''Ha-Diber Ha-11'' (1975) *''Rachel's Man'' (1975) - Rachel *''

'' (1977) - Nadine *''La fille de Prague avec un sac très lourd'' (1978) - Milena *'' Moments'' (1979) - Yola *''Real Game'' (1980) *''

Hanna K. ''Hanna K.'' is a 1983 American drama film directed by Costa-Gavras, starring Jill Clayburgh and Gabriel Byrne. The film was an attempt to depict the Palestinian-Israeli conflict in human terms.Cheryl A. Rubenberg. "Israel and the American National ...

'' (1983) - Russian woman *''Silver Platter'' (1983) *'' The Ambassador'' (1984) - Tova *'' Atalia'' (1984) - Atalia *'' The Lover'' (1985) - Asia *''

The Impossible Spy ''The Impossible Spy'' is a 1987 television film based on the true story of an Israeli civilian spy, Eli Cohen, who was recruited into Israel's secret intelligence agency (the Mossad) in the 1960s to become a spy in Damascus. Prior to his capture ...

'' (1987, TV Movie) - Nadia Cohen *'' Aya: Imagined Autobiography'' (1994) - Aya *''Women'' (1996) - Rebecca *''Rita Shem Zemani'' (2007) *''

BeTipul ''BeTipul'' ( he, בטיפול; lit. ''In Therapy'') is an Israeli television drama revolving around the personal and professional life of an Israeli psychologist, Reuven Dagan, played by Assi Dayan. The series portrays a psychologist who treats ...

'' (2008, TV Series) - Tami Savyon (final film role)

As director

*'' Moments'' (1979) *'' The Thin Line'' (1980) *'' Boy Meets Girl'' (1982) *'' The Lover'' (1986) *'' A Thousand and One Wives'' (1989) *''

The Deserter's Wife ''The Deserter's Wife'' (french: La femme du déserteur) is a 1991 Cinema of France, French-Cinema of Israel, Israeli co-production dramatic independent film, independent underground film, underground art film directed by Michal Bat-Adam. Synops ...

'' (1991) *''The Flight of Uncle Peretz'' (1993) *'' Aya: Imagined Autobiography'' (1994) *'' Love at Second Sight'' (1999) *'' Life Is Life'' (2003) *''Maya'' (2010)

Awards

*Best Actress award of the Israel Film Institute: '' I Love You Rosa'' (1972) and '' Atalia'' (1984). *Best Film, Best Director, Best Actress awards of the Israel Film Institute: '' Moments'' (1979) and '' The Thin Line'' (1980). *

Ophir Award The Ophir Awards ( he, פרס אופיר), colloquially 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 Television. The award, name ...

for Lifetime Achievement (2019). * Israel Prize for film art (2021).

References

External links

*
There Was Snow In One Country – Michal Bat-Adam Reads Poems
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bat-Adam, Michal 1945 births Living people People from Afula Israeli people of Polish-Jewish descent Israeli expatriates in France Beit Zvi School for the Performing Arts alumni Academic staff of Tel Aviv University Israeli film actresses Israeli television actresses 20th-century Israeli actresses 21st-century Israeli actresses Jewish Israeli actresses Israeli female screenwriters Israeli women film directors Israeli women film producers Drama teachers 20th-century Israeli screenwriters 21st-century Israeli screenwriters