Photo by Dana Bar Siman Tov
1989
What began as a campaign for an independent film school has grown into one of Israel’s most influential cultural institutions. Through decades of support from the Jerusalem Foundation, the Sam Spiegel Film and Television School continues to nurture filmmakers whose stories enrich both Israeli cinema and the international screen.
From its earliest decades, cinema has occupied a meaningful place in Israeli culture. Films captured the texture of a young society finding its voice and soon became one of the country’s most vibrant artistic forms. Yet by the late 1980s opportunities for serious film training remained surprisingly limited. Only a single government supported program existed, and many students felt that cinema was being treated as a secondary track compared to other artistic frameworks. They argued that filmmaking demanded its own dedicated space where the craft could be studied, practiced, and refined. Their campaign gained national attention and eventually reached the president of Israel at the time, Yitzhak Navon, who recognized the significance of their request. Out of this moment of advocacy emerged the country’s first institution devoted entirely to the art of cinema.
In 1989 the Jerusalem National Film and Television School was established through a partnership between the Ministry of Education and Culture and the Jerusalem Foundation. Students arrived from across the country to study directing, screenwriting, cinematography, producing, and editing through an intensive program built around practical filmmaking. The school was initially housed in a converted industrial building that had been adapted into an arts complex with the support of the Jerusalem Foundation. The modest setting quickly became a creative hub where young filmmakers spent long hours writing scripts, assembling crews, and learning the collaborative language of cinema.
The institution soon entered a defining new chapter when the legendary Hollywood producer Sam Spiegel left a substantial portion of his estate to the city of Jerusalem. Spiegel had been responsible for some of the most celebrated films of the twentieth century, including The African Queen, On the Waterfront, and Lawrence of Arabia. The royalties from these productions created a lasting endowment for the school, allowing it to expand its programs and strengthen its international profile. In recognition of this extraordinary legacy the institution was renamed the Sam Spiegel Film and Television School. Alongside Spiegel’s contribution, the Jerusalem Foundation has continued to provide the school with ongoing support, including the creation of the Sunny and Abe Rosenberg Library, the purchase of equipment and scholarships and prizes for students including the Magda Pastor Mayer Award, the Edward G. Robinson Scholarship, the Michael Solomon Prize and the Yosef and Tirza Gadish Scholarship.
Over time the school gained a reputation far beyond Israel. Student films began appearing regularly at major international festivals including Cannes, Berlin, Venice, and New York, where they often received awards and critical acclaim. Many graduates have gone on to shape contemporary Israeli cinema, directing films and television series that have reached audiences around the world. Scholarships, professional prizes, and specialized training programs continue to nurture new talent while ensuring that the school remains accessible to aspiring filmmakers from diverse backgrounds.
In 2022 the school moved to the newly inaugurated Jerusalem Arts Campus, a state of the art facility in downtown Jerusalem. Here, students pursue the school’s two principal programs. The full filmmaking track guides students through the entire creative process from writing and directing to cinematography, editing, and production, while the screenwriting track is devoted to the craft of storytelling for film and television. Together these programs allow emerging filmmakers to develop both the technical skills and narrative vision required to bring complex stories to the screen.
Today the Sam Spiegel Film and Television School stands as a testament to the determination of the students who first insisted that cinema deserved a home of its own. Within its studios and editing rooms new filmmakers experiment with image, sound, and story while engaging with the complex realities of Israeli life. Each graduating class adds another layer to the country’s cinematic tradition. The result is a living archive of voices and visions that will continue to shape how Israel tells its stories for generations to come.
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