Avi Nesher is one of the most important and influential filmmakers in Israel’s history. His first films, The Troupe (which he directed at age 24) and Dizengoff 99, became Israeli cult classics. In 1984 he wrote and directed the thriller Rage and Glory, which many consider to be one of the best Israeli films of all time. Turn Left at the End of the World (2004) was a huge success and is thought to be the opening shot of the golden age of Israeli cinema. The same year Nesher was awarded an Extraordinary Achievement Award at the Jerusalem Film Festival for his cinematic achievements and major contribution to the success of Israeli movies throughout the world. In 2009 he won the Cinematic Excellence Award at the Haifa Film Festival. That same year he wrote and directed The Matchmaker (Pa’am Hayitee/The Matchmaker), inspired by Amir Gutfreund’s novel Her Heroes Fly. The film tells the story of a teenage boy in Haifa who finds a summer job in 1968 with a Holocaust survivor who supports herself by matchmaking and smuggling. In 2016, Past Life had its world premiere at the Toronto Film Festival. This film is the final installment in his Present-Past trilogy, which began with Turn Left at the End of the World and continued with The Matchmaker. Like them it deals with the traumas of the Holocaust and immigration that are the basis of Israeli identity. In 2018 Nesher was chosen to be a mentor to young filmmakers by the International Laboratory for Screenwriting in Jerusalem as well as by the International Laboratory for Screenwriting of the Toronto Film Festival. That year also saw the release of his twentieth film, The Other Story, which was the best reviewed and most successful Israeli movie in 2018, beating out in the box office most of the American blockbusters. The Israeli Film Critics Association awarded Nesher its 2018 “Best Director of the Year” award for this film.
Festival Internacional de Cine de Monterrey
