Rama Burshtein-Shai () is an American-born Israeli filmmaker best known for her 2012 debut feature, ''

Fill the Void ''Fill the Void'' ( - lemale et ha'ḥalal) is a 2012 Israeli drama film written and directed by Rama Burshtein. It focuses on life among the Haredi Judaism, Haredi Jewish community in Tel Aviv, Israel. Hadas Yaron stars as Shira Mendelman, an ...

''.

Early life

Burshtein was born in New York in 1967, and moved to

Tel Aviv Tel Aviv-Yafo ( or , ; ), sometimes rendered as Tel Aviv-Jaffa, and usually referred to as just Tel Aviv, is the most populous city in the Gush Dan metropolitan area of Israel. Located on the Israeli Mediterranean coastline and with a popula ...

when she was one year old. She attended the

Sam Spiegel Film and Television School The Sam Spiegel Film and Television School () is a film and television school in Jerusalem, Israel that was founded in 1989 as the Jerusalem School of Film. It was renamed in honor of Hollywood producer Sam Spiegel in 1996 with the acquisition ...

Jerusalem Jerusalem is a city in the Southern Levant, on a plateau in the Judaean Mountains between the Mediterranean Sea, Mediterranean and the Dead Sea. It is one of the List of oldest continuously inhabited cities, oldest cities in the world, and ...

, graduating in 1995. Burshtein became an

Orthodox Jew Orthodox Judaism is a collective term for the traditionalist branches of contemporary Judaism. Theologically, it is chiefly defined by regarding the Torah, both Written and Oral, as literally revealed by God on Mount Sinai and faithfully tran ...

when she was 25 years old.

Career

Prior to ''

'', Burshtein was part of a collective of

Orthodox Jewish Orthodox Judaism is a collective term for the traditionalist branches of contemporary Judaism. Theologically, it is chiefly defined by regarding the Torah, both Written and Oral, as literally revealed by God on Mount Sinai and faithfully tra ...

women film-makers who funded, produced, directed, and wrote films for themselves. According to Burshtein, it took her 15 years to complete her debut film, ''Fill the Void'', with numerous delays over writing, casting, and editing. It took her a year to find actress

Hadas Yaron Hadas Yaron (; born April 12, 1990) is an Israeli actress. She began acting as a child and made her film debut as a supporting actress in the 2006 film, ''Out of Sight''. Yaron played lead character Shira Mendelman in the 2012 Israeli drama film, ...

to play the main role of Shira, and another year in post-production because of insecurities over the editing process. ''Fill the Void'' starred Chayim Sharir, Hadas Yaron, Hila Feldman, Ido Samuel, Irit Sheleg, Razia Israeli, Renana Raz, Yael Tal, and Yiftach Klein. It is the story of a religious Jewish woman who must make a decision about whether or not to marry her late sister's husband. ''Fill the Void'' premiered at the

69th Venice International Film Festival The 69th annual Venice International Film Festival, was held from 29 August to 8 September 2012, at Venice Lido in Italy. American filmmaker Michael Mann was the jury president for the main competition. Polish actress Kasia Smutniak was the H ...

. Lead actress

won the

Volpi Cup 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 ...

for her work. Burshtein won three

Ophir Awards 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 Televi ...

for directing, writing, and producing for her work on the film. The film was picked up for

North American North America is a continent in the Northern and Western hemispheres. North America is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South America and the Caribbean Sea, and to the sou ...

distribution by

Sony Pictures Classics Sony Pictures Classics Inc. is an American arthouse film production and distribution company that is a division of Sony Pictures Entertainment. It was founded in 1992 by former Orion Classics heads Michael Barker, Tom Bernard and Marcie Bloo ...

. It was released in 2013, to great critical acclaim, receiving a score of 81 on

Metacritic Metacritic is an American website that aggregates reviews of films, television shows, music albums, video games, and formerly books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted average). Metacritic was created ...

. In 2013, Burshtein was invited to direct a short film in celebration of the 70th anniversary of the

Venice International 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 ...

. Her film, along with those of 69 other directors, was collected in a work entitled Venezia 70 - Future Reloaded, and premiered at the

70th Venice International Film Festival The 70th annual Venice International Film Festival, was held from 28 August to 7 September 2013, at Venice Lido in Italy. Italian filmmaker Bernardo Bertolucci was the jury president for the main competition. He was previously the presiden ...

. Burshtein's second film, '' The Wedding Plan'' (''Through the Wall'' in Hebrew), was again set in an Israeli Orthodox Jewish community, about a young woman determined to still get married on the date of her planned wedding after her fiancé leaves her. The film stars

Noa Koler Noa Koler (; born 24 June 1981) is an Israeli actress. She has received numerous accolades, including an Ophir Award for Best Actress in '' The Wedding Plan'' (2016). Early life Koler was born and raised in Petah Tikva in Israel. Her mother, Ha ...

, who won the best actress award at the 2016

Haifa International Film Festival The Haifa International Film Festival () is an annual film festival that takes place every autumn (between late September and late October), during the week-long holiday of Sukkot, in Haifa, Israel. History The festival was inaugurated in 1983 an ...

. In 2022 she directed the television series, '' Fire Dance''. The

Haredi Haredi Judaism (, ) is a branch of Orthodox Judaism that is characterized by its strict interpretation of religious sources and its accepted (Jewish law) and traditions, in opposition to more accommodating values and practices. Its members are ...

drama is set in

Tiberias Tiberias ( ; , ; ) is a city on the western shore of the Sea of Galilee in northern Israel. A major Jewish center during Late Antiquity, it has been considered since the 16th century one of Judaism's Four Holy Cities, along with Jerusalem, Heb ...

and stars

Yehuda Levi Yehuda Levi (; born June 29, 1979) is an Israeli actor, model and TV presenter. Regarded as one of the best performers of his generation in Israel, he is recognized for his versatile work across independent films, television and the stage. He h ...

.Rama Burshtein Is the Queen of Complicated Haredi Love Stories
''Kveller''. 14 March 2024

Family life

She has three sons and a daughter with her former husband, Aharon Burshtein. Following her divorce from Aharon, she remarried in 2020 and now goes by Rama Burshtein-Shai.Rama Burshtein
Jewish Women's Archive. 23 June 2021

Filmography

* ''

'' (2012) * '' Venezia 70 - Future Reloaded'' (2013) * '' The Wedding Plan (Through the Wall)'' (2016) * '' Fire Dance'' (2022)

References

External links