Jerusalem’s Sam Spiegel Film Lab launches 13th year

Jerusalem’s Sam Spiegel International Film Lab is beginning its 13th year of master classes, and this year’s instructors will include “Pulp Fiction” producer Lawrence Bender and Academy Award-nominated filmmaker Joseph Cedar.

“It’s imperative to continue supporting and developing voices from Israel and the world together, especially in light of the challenges that the current era creates for international collaborations,” said Mor Eldar, director of the Lab.

The Lab’s lineup for its 13th edition includes projects from Austria, Brazil, France, Hungary and Israel, including “Family Honor,” a first film from “Fauda” actor Hisham Suliman, with director Sari Bisharat; “Gut Feeling” by Gilad Inbar and Benny Fredman, and several others.

Despite the ongoing war sparked by the Hamas terrorist attack on southern Israel on October 7, 2023, the incubator marked several successes last year, including the accomplishments of Tom Nesher’s “Come Closer,” developed at the Film Lab.

Nesher’s debut film premiered at the Tribeca Film Festival in New York City (winning the Viewpoint award) and won best feature film at the Ophir Awards, becoming Israel’s entry into the Academy Awards.

Nesher was recently included on Variety’s 2025 Directors to Watch list.

“Girls Will Be Girls,” from Lab alumnus Shuchi Talati, an Indian director, won the 2024 Sundance Audience Award at the World Cinema Dramatic Competition, along with Sundance’s Special Jury Award for Acting.

Other Lab alumni picked up awards at the Venice Days film event, part of the Venice Film Festival and at the Karlovy Vary film festival in the Czech Republic.

Filmmakers can create worlds while helping reality and maintain the values of humanism, said Dana Blankstein-Cohen, director of the Sam Spiegel School for Film and Television in Jerusalem.

“They have an essential role in persistently preserving humanity through a complex discourse while distinguishing nuances,” said Blankstein-Cohen.