The Sam Spiegel Film and Television School () is a film and television school in

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 ...

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 ...

that was founded in 1989 as the Jerusalem School of Film. It was renamed in honor of Hollywood producer

Sam Spiegel Samuel P. Spiegel (November 11, 1901December 31, 1985) was an American independent film producer. Financially responsible for some of the most critically acclaimed motion pictures of the 20th century, Spiegel produced films that won the Academy ...

in 1996 with the acquisition of his estate. As of August 2024. the school’s executive director is Dana Blankstein Cohen. In September 2022 the school moved from its historic location in the

Talpiot Talpiot (, literally 'turrets' or 'magnificently built') is an Israeli neighborhood in southeastern Jerusalem, established in 1922 by Zionist pioneers. It was built as a garden suburb on land purchased by the Tel Aviv-based Palestine Land Devel ...

neighborhood to the new Jerusalem Arts Campus in central

History

In 1988, a student protest took place at the film department of the Beit Zvi School of Art in

Ramat Gan Ramat Gan (, ) is a city in the Tel Aviv District of Israel, located east of the municipality of Tel Aviv, and is part of the Gush Dan, Gush Dan metropolitan area. It is home to a Diamond Exchange District (one of the world's major diamond exch ...

, then the sole film school supported by the state. Charging that Beit Zvi School of Art gave preference to the acting track, the film students demanded independence. The Education and Culture Minister at the time, President

Yitzhak Navon Yitzhak Rachamim Navon (; 9 April 1921 – 6 November 2015) was an Israeli politician, diplomat, playwright, and author. He served as the president of Israel between 1978 and 1983 as a member of the centre-left Alignment party. He was the f ...

established a public inquiry that supported their claims. He then decided to create a new independent school for film and television, the first of its kind in

. The mayor of

Teddy Kollek Theodor "Teddy" Kollek (; 27 May 1911 – 2 January 2007) was an Israeli politician who served as the mayor of Jerusalem from 1965 to 1993, and founder of the Jerusalem Foundation. Kollek was re-elected five times, in 1969, 1973, 1978 Jerusalem ...

, and Ruth Cheshin, president of the

Jerusalem Foundation The Jerusalem Foundation (, ''HaKeren LiYerushalayim''; ) is a Foundation (non-profit), nonprofit foundation that promotes the development of the city of Jerusalem, by raising funds for social, cultural and beautification projects. Established in ...

, committed to match government funding. In July 1989, Ruth Cheshin charged film director Renen Schorr with the task of making this new school a reality. The school opened in

in November 1989. It was renamed in honor of Hollywood producer

in 1996, with the support of the Sam Spiegel Estate. In November 2019 the board of directors appointed Dana Blankstein Cohen to head the school. In June 2021 Shir Shoshani was appointed deputy school director & head of the film and television department. The school’s alumni include Rama Burshtein,

Nadav Lapid Nadav Lapid () is an Israeli screenwriter and film director. Film critics consider him to be among the most internationally acclaimed filmmakers from Israel. Early life Lapid was born in Tel Aviv, Israel, to a family of Ashkenazi Jewish descent. ...

, Talya Lavie, Tom Shoval, Nir Bergman, Noah Stollman, Yehonatan Indursky, Amichai Chasson, Elad Keidan and

Ra'anan Alexandrowicz 'Ra'anan Alexandrowicz'' (; born August 29, 1969) is a director, screenwriter and editor. He was born in Jerusalem. He is known for the documentary ''The Law in These Parts'' (2011), for which he received the Grand Jury Award at the Sundance Film ...

. The Sam Spiegel Film and Television School has been a member of international film and television association

CILECT The International Association of Film and Television Schools (French: ''Centre international de liaison des écoles de cinéma et de télévision'', CILECT) is the association of the world's major film and television schools. History CILECT wa ...

since 2001. In September 2022 the school moved from its historic location in the Talpiot neighborhood to the new Jerusalem Arts Campus in central Jerusalem. The new building is a seven-story state-of-the-art building that includes a sound stage, 21 editing suites and three cinemas that are open to the public.

Accolades

The school has been the subject of some 190 tributes and retrospectives in 55 countries at international festivals, including the

Museum of Modern Art in New York The Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) is an art museum located in Midtown Manhattan, New York City, on 53rd Street between Fifth and Sixth Avenues. MoMA's collection spans the late 19th century to the present, and includes over 200,000 works of arc ...

(1996), the Rotterdam Festival (1997), the Havana Festival (1999), the Moscow Festival (1999), the

Valladolid Film Festival The Valladolid International Film Festival, popularly known as Seminci (short for ; ), is a film festival held annually in Valladolid, Spain. First held in 1956 as ('Valladolid Religious Film Week'), the Seminci is one of the longest-standing fi ...

(Spain, 2000), FIPA Festival - Biarritz (France, 2004) the

Berlin International Film Festival The Berlin International Film Festival (), usually called the Berlinale (), is an annual film festival held in Berlin, Germany. Founded in 1951 and originally run in June, the festival has been held every February since 1978 and is one of Europ ...

(2004, 2019), the Hamptons Festival (2005) and the

Clermont-Ferrand International Short Film Festival The Clermont-Ferrand International Short Film Festival (French: ''Festival international du court métrage de Clermont-Ferrand'') is an international film festival dedicated to short films held annually in Clermont-Ferrand, France. It is the ...

in France (2005), and

Sarajevo Film Festival The Sarajevo Film Festival is the premier and largest film festival in Southeast Europe, and is one of the largest film festivals in Europe. It was founded in Sarajevo in 1995 during the siege of Sarajevo in the Bosnian War, and brings internatio ...

(2008). In 2016 the Faculty of Asian and Middle Eastern Studies at

University of Cambridge The University of Cambridge is a Public university, public collegiate university, collegiate research university in Cambridge, England. Founded in 1209, the University of Cambridge is the List of oldest universities in continuous operation, wo ...

held a tribute to the school. The school's films have won 420 international and local prizes, including twice the First Prize at the

Cannes Film Festival The Cannes Film Festival (; ), until 2003 called the International Film Festival ('), is the most prestigious film festival in the world. Held in Cannes, France, it previews new films of all genres, including documentaries, from all around ...

. In 2008 ''Anthem'', by Elad Keidan was awarded First Prize in the Student Film competition at the

Cinéfondation La ''Cinéfondation'' is a foundation under the aegis of the Cannes Film Festival, created to inspire and support the next generation of international filmmakers. It was created in 1998 by Gilles Jacob. Since then it has developed complementary ...

section. This marked the first ever such win by an Israeli student film in Cannes, and in 2015 Or Sinai won for her film ''Anna''. In 2023 the school's documentary “Before Bedtime” took first place in the CILECT Prize. In August 2023 the school was listed on the ''Hollywood Reporter''’s list of 15 best global film schools.

Education

The school currently has 180 students studying in two tracks: a four-year curriculum covering all aspects of filmmaking such as directing, editing, producing, and cinematography, in addition to theoretical studies, and a two-year track for

screenwriters 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 ...

, including a specialization in writing for television. Around 40 student films are produced at the school each year. In February 2022 a preparatory program for Arabic speakers from

East Jerusalem East Jerusalem (, ; , ) is the portion of Jerusalem that was Jordanian annexation of the West Bank, held by Jordan after the 1948 Arab–Israeli War, as opposed to West Jerusalem, which was held by Israel. Captured and occupied in 1967, th ...

was opened. The curriculum includes Hebrew language, general art and cultural concepts as well as introductory film classes. The second edition of the program began in June 2023.

Initiatives

The Sam Spiegel International Film Lab was launched in December 2011, with the goal of fostering the development and production of full-length feature films by some of the world’s most promising young talents. The Lab became the third film lab of its kind in the world, along with The

Sundance Institute Sundance Institute is a non-profit organization founded by actor Robert Redford committed to the growth of independent artists. The institute is driven by its programs that discover and support independent filmmakers, theatre artists and compo ...

and The

TorinoFilmLab TorinoFilmLab (TFL) is a Turin-based laboratory that primarily supports persons working on their first and second fiction feature films. Its four main fields of involvement are training, development, funding and distribution. TorinoFilmLab runs se ...

Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...

. In 2015, the lab developed the Academy Award-winning film

Son of Saul ''Son of Saul'' () is a 2015 Hungarian historical drama film directed by László Nemes, in his feature directorial debut, and co-written by Nemes and Clara Royer. It is set in the Auschwitz concentration camp during World War II, and follows ...

László Nemes László Nemes (born Nemes Jeles László; ; 18 February 1977) is a Hungarian film director and screenwriter. His 2015 debut feature film, ''Son of Saul,'' was screened in the main competition at the 2015 Cannes Film Festival, where it won the ...

. In May 2023 the Lab celebrated its first decade and recognized its alumni including

, whose The Kindergarten Teacher (2014 film) was developed at the 1st edition of the Lab and went on to a remake starring

Maggie Gyllenhaal Margalit Ruth "Maggie" Gyllenhaal ( , ; born November 16, 1977) is an American actress and filmmaker. Part of the Gyllenhaal family, she is the daughter of filmmakers Stephen Gyllenhaal and Naomi Achs, and the older sister of actor Jake Gylle ...

; Antoneta Kusijanovic 2021

Caméra d'Or The Caméra d'Or ("''Golden Camera''") is an award of the Cannes Film Festival for the best first feature film presented in one of the Cannes selections (Official Selection, Directors' Fortnight or Critics' Week). The prize was created in 1978 Ca ...

winner for the Lab developed Murina (film); and

Abner Benaim Abner Benaim (born 1971) is a Panamanian film director, producer, screenwriter and plastic artist. Biography Benaim was born in Panama City in 1971. He studied International Relationships at University of Pennsylvania, United States. He then att ...

whose Lab developed Plaza Catedral was

Panama Panama, officially the Republic of Panama, is a country in Latin America at the southern end of Central America, bordering South America. It is bordered by Costa Rica to the west, Colombia to the southeast, the Caribbean Sea to the north, and ...

’s entry to the Oscars in 2021. The director of the Labs is Mor Eldar. In 2021 the Sam Spiegel Series Lab was launched in partnership with

Netflix Netflix is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service. The service primarily distributes original and acquired films and television shows from various genres, and it is available internationally in multiple lang ...

and

Paramount Pictures Paramount Pictures Corporation, commonly known as Paramount Pictures or simply Paramount, is an American film production company, production and Distribution (marketing), distribution company and the flagship namesake subsidiary of Paramount ...

. The Series Lab accepts eight Israeli projects who work over a period of six months with mentors, including Hagai Levi, and then travel to

Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

for presentation to the US industry. The second edition of the Series Lab began in May 2023.

References

External links

Hollywood Reporter ranks Jerusalem's Sam Spiegel in 15 top film schools - Israel Culture - The Jerusalem Post (jpost.com)
HANNAH BROWN AUGUST 15, 2023 *
The 15 Top Global Film Schools of 2023
– The Hollywood Reporter, AUGUST 11, 2023 *
Sam Spiegel Series Lab comes to Jerusalem, continues Netflix collab - Israel Culture - The Jerusalem Post (jpost.com)
HANNAH BROWN, JUNE 18, 2023 *
Jerusalem's Sam Spiegel Film Lab celebrates its first decade - Israel Culture - The Jerusalem Post (jpost.com)
HANNAH BROWN, MAY 3, 2023 *
Film school's second act gives starring role to new downtown Jerusalem arts campus , The Times of Israel
JESSICA STEINBERG, 29 November 2022 *
Alex Camilleri’s ‘Zejtune’ leads Jerusalem Sam Spiegel, Pitch Point winners
, News , Screen (screendaily.com), BEN DALTON, 25 JULY 2022 *
Henry Winkler, Aleeza Chanowitz Star in 'Chanshi' for Israel's HOT -
Variety, Naman Ramachandran, Feb 28, 2022 *
Sam Spiegel Film School Bows Series Lab With Netflix, ViacomCBS
- Variety, Elsa Keslassy, Feb 7, 2022 *
Jerusalem Sam Spiegel Film School fetes Sophia Loren , News , Screen (screendaily.com)
MELANIE GOODFELLOW, 27 JANUARY 2021 *
Israel, Abu Dhabi funds and Sam Spiegel film school sign cooperation agreement
, News , Screen (screendaily.com), MELANIE GOODFELLOW, 21 SEPTEMBER 2020 *
Naomi Kawase Jury Awards 'Anna' Cinefondation First Prize -
Variety, John Hopewell, May 20, 2016 *
The Sam Spiegel School Film and Television Homepage
{{DEFAULTSORT:Sam Spiegel Film And Television School, The Schools in Jerusalem Film schools in Israel Art schools in Israel 1989 establishments in Israel Educational institutions established in 1989