# Assaf Amir

Assaf Amir (Hebrew: אסף אמיר; born 1954) is an Israeli filmmaker and television and film producer, former chairman of The Israeli Producers Association and the current chairman of The Israeli Academy of Film and Television.

## Early life and education

Amir was born in 1954 in Rehovot and grew up in Bat-Yam. During his childhood, he was a child actor at the Habima National Theatre.
Amir studied cinema and philosophy at the City College of San Francisco and continued his studies at The New School for Social Research in NYC. During his time in New York, he met his future wife, artist Orly Maiberg.

## Media career
### Film

Upon his return to Israel, Amir began producing films. He was the executive producer for Aviya's Summer and Israeli Academy Awards for Best Film Winner Life According to Agfa.
In 1994, Amir founded Norma Productions, an independent production company. His first independent production was Elia Suleiman’s Chronicle of a Disappearance in 1996. It won the Best First Film Prize at the Venice International Film Festival.
In 1997, Amir produced Pick a Card (aka Afula Express), which won the Israeli Academy Award for Best Film.
In 2003, Amir produced Nir Bergman's Broken Wings, which won the Israeli Academy Award for Best Film and the Audience Award at the Berlinale film festival. Amir collaborated with Bergman again in 2010 producing his film Intimate Grammar.
In 2005, Amir produced What a Wonderful Place, which won the Israeli Academy Best Film Award, and the Special Jury award at the Karlovy Vary International Film Festival.
During the following years, Amir produced the films Noodle, The Loners and Zion and His Brother.
In 2012, Amir produced Rama Burshtein's debut film Fill the Void, which won the Israeli Academy Best Film Award and the Best Actress award at the Venice International Film Festival.
In 2016, Amir went on to produce Burshtein's next film, The Wedding Plan (aka Through the Wall).

### Yelevision

In 2005, Amir created the television drama "Reaching for Heaven" in collaboration with Shlomo Mashiach and Roni Ninio, which won the Israeli Academy Awards for Best Drama Series. In 2007 Amir produced the television drama "Walk the Dog" directed by Nir Bergman, which won the Israeli Academy Award for Best Television Drama. In 2020, Amir created Together with Noa Koller and Erez Drigues the comedy-drama Rehearsals, which won eight Israeli Academy awards (including Best Series) and was acquired by American network Hulu and distributed worldwide.

### Documentaries

Amir produced many documentaries including Tali Shemesh's The Cemetery Club, Yair Qedar's Gay Days, Michal Weits's Blue Box and Nur Fibak's A Minor Crime which won the Israeli academy of film and television award for Best Documentary Film (max. 60 minutes) in 2023.

### Other

Amir was the chairman of The Israeli Producers Association during the years 2012–2015. He is the chairman of The Israeli Academy of Film and Television beginning in 2019.

## Personal life

Amir is the grandson of Meyer Weisgal, an American Journalist, Zionist activist, and one of the founders of Weizmann Institute of Science and Beit Hatfutsot (the Jewish Diaspora Museum). His parents were among the founders of Kibbutz Shoval. Amir is married to artist Orly Maiberg. They have three children. He currently resides in Tel Aviv.

## Filmography
### Feature Films

As producer unless otherwise noted :
| Year | Title | Notes |
| 1988 | Aviya's Summer | Executive producer |
| 1993 | Life According to Agfa | Executive producer |
| 1996 | Chronicle of a Disappearance | Executive producer |
| 1997 | Afula Express | |
| 2003 | Broken Wings | |
| 2004 | Riky Riky | |
| 2005 | What a Wonderful Place | |
| 2007 | Noodle | |
| 2009 | The Loners | |
| 2009 | Zion and His Brother | |
| 2010 | Intimate Grammar | |
| 2010 | Dusk | |
| 2012 | Fill the Void | |
| 2016 | The Wedding Plan | |
| 2016 | Epilogue | |
| 2016 | The 90 Minute War | |
| 2022 | Sand Flakes | |

### Documentary Films

As producer unless otherwise noted :
| Year | Title |
| 2004 | Melting Siberia |
| 2006 | Tali Fahima: Crossing The Lines |
| 2006 | The Cemetery Club |
| 2007 | A Million Bullets in October |
| 2009 | Gay Days |
| 2013 | Turning Thirteen |
| 2015 | This Boy Is Me |
| 2015 | Meshulam |
| 2016 | Let's Dance |
| 2017 | Rachel Agmon |
| 2019 | Chasing Yehoshua |
| 2019 | Open Your Mouth |
| 2020 | Blue Box |
| 2023 | A minor Crime |

### Television

As producer unless otherwise noted :
| Year | Title | Notes |
| 2000–2005 | Reaching for Heaven | |
| 2009 | Walk the Dog | Written by Shirly Moshaioff |
| 2009 | Castles in the Sky | |
| 2010 | The Journalists | |
| 2012 | The Albums | |
| 2017 | A Standard Love Song: Arik Einstein | |
| 2020 | Rehearsals | |

## Awards and nominations

Awards and nominations received by Assaf Amir :
| Award | Year | Nominated work | Category | Result |
| 43rd Berlin International Film Festival | 1992 | Life According to Agfa | Golden Bear | Nominated |
| 43rd Berlin International Film Festival | 1992 | Life According to Agfa | Honourable Mention | Won |
| Jerusalem Film Festival | 1992 | Life According to Agfa | Best Film | Won |
| Israeli Academy Awards | 1993 | Life According to Agfa | Best Film | Won |
| 53rd Venice International Film Festival | 1996 | Chronicle of a Disappearance | Luigi De Laurentis Award for a Debut Film | Won |
| Israeli Academy Awards | 1997 | Afula Express | Best Film | Won |
| Jerusalem Film Festival | 1997 | Afula Express | Best Film | Won |
| Tokyo International Film Festival | 2002 | Broken Wings | Grand Prix | Won |
| Jerusalem Film Festival | 2002 | Broken Wings | Best Film | Won |
| 52nd Berlin International Film Festival | 2003 | Broken Wings | Panorama Audience Award | Won |
| Israeli Academy Awards | 2003 | Broken Wings | Best Film | Won |
| 40th Karlovy Vary International Film Festival | 2005 | What a Wonderful Place | Special Jury Prize | Won |
| Jerusalem Film Festival | 2005 | What a Wonderful Place | Best Film | Won |
| Israeli Academy Awards | 2005 | What a Wonderful Place | Best Film | Won |
| Israeli Academy Awards | 2006 | The Cemetery Club | Best Documentary | Nominated |
| European Film Awards | 2006 | The Cemetery Club | European Documentary | Nominated |
| Dok Leipzig | 2006 | The Cemetery Club | White Dove | Won |
| Shanghai International Film Festival | 2006 | The Cemetery Club | Magnolia Award - Best Asian Documentary | Won |
| Warsaw International Film Festival | 2006 | The Cemetery Club | Best Documentary | Nominated |
| Israeli Academy Awards | 2007 | Noodle | Best Film | Nominated |
| Montreal World Film Festival | 2007 | Noodle | Special Grand Prize of the Jury | Won |
| Montreal World Film Festival | 2007 | Noodle | Grand Prix des Amériques | Nominated |
| Israeli Academy Awards | 2009 | The Loners | Best Film | Nominated |
| Jerusalem Film Festival | 2009 | The Loners | Best Film | Nominated |
| Jerusalem Film Festival | 2010 | Intimate Grammar | Best Film | Won |
| Tokyo International Film Festival | 2010 | Intimate Grammar | Grand Prix | Won |
| Israeli Academy Awards | 2012 | Fill the Void | Best Film | Won |
| 69th Venice International Film Festival | 2012 | Fill the Void | Golden Lion | Nominated |
| 69th Venice International Film Festival | 2012 | Fill the Void | SIGNIS Award | Nominated – Special Mention |
| 28th Independent Spirit Awards | 2012 | Fill the Void | Best First Feature | Nominated – Special Mention |
| 2012 Toronto International Film Festival | 2012 | Fill the Void | FIPRESCI Discovery | Nominated |
| 69th Venice International Film Festival | 2012 | Epilogue | Best film (Venice Nights) | Nominated |
| 73rd Venice International Film Festival | 2016 | The Wedding Plan | Horizons - Best Film | Nominated |
| Israeli Academy Awards | 2016 | The Wedding Plan | Best Film | Nominated |
| Stockholm International Film Festival | 2016 | The Wedding Plan | Bronze Horse - Best Film | Nominated |
| Israeli Academy Awards | 2023 | A Minor Crime | Best Documentary Film (max. 60 minutes) | Won |