San Francisco Jewish Film Festival

Shimon Dotan

Shimon Dotan was born in Romania in 1949 and moved to Israel in 1959. He grew up in an agricultural cooperative, served five years in the Israeli military as a Navy Seal, and went on to get his BFA at Tel Aviv University, where his student films twice won Israel's Best Short Film and Best Director Awards. He has taught filmmaking at Tel Aviv University and at Concordia University in Montreal, and also served as President of the 25,000-member Israeli Diving Federation. In addition to his filmmaking activity Dotan is presently teaching at NYU and The New School University. He is a fellow at the New York Institute for the Humanities and a member of both the Directors Guild of America and Writers Guild of America.

Dotan's films have received both critical acclaim and commercial success. His debut writing/directing/producing effort, Repeat Dive , which chronicles Dotan's own experiences as a member of Israel's elite Navy Commando unit, won three Israeli Academy Awards, including Best Picture and Best Director, and was selected for the official competition at the Berlin and Chicago Film Festivals. He followed that effort with two short quasi-documentaries, Souvenirs from Tel Aviv, chronicling a demonstration against the Israeli invasion of Lebanon, and Souvenirs from Hebron, which followed an Israeli military patrol on its rounds through the Casbah of the Arab town. His 1986 feature film The Smile of the Lamb (written, produced and directed by Dotan), a further exploration of the Israeli-Palestinian divide, won numerous awards including the Silver Bear at Berlin and six Israeli Academy Awards, including those for Best Director and Best Picture. In 1991 Dotan directed The Finest Hour for 21st Century, starring Rob Lowe, Tracy Griffith and Gale Hanson. Warriors was produced and directed by Dotan in 1994 and starred Gary Busey and Michael Pare. In 1996 Dotan directed and produced Coyote Run, starring Peter Greene, Macha Grenon and Michael Pare. The critically acclaimed 1998 film You Can Thank Me Later, starring Ellen Burstyn, Amanda Plummer, Genevieve Boujold and Mary McDonnell, was produced with partner Netaya Anbar and directed by Dotan. It was awarded Best Film at Newport Beach Film Festival, selected for the closing night at the Palm Spring Film Festival and had its opening gala at the Montreal Film Festival. In 1999 Dotan produced The List with Ryan O'Neal and Ben Gazara, Cause of Death with Patrick Bergin and Michael Ironside and Wilder with Pam Grier and Rutger Hauer. In 2000 Dotan produced Hidden Agenda with Dolph Lundgren and Maxim Roy. In 2002 he wrote the script for Watching TV With The Red Chinese, based on a novel by Luke Whisnant, and in 2004 he wrote Lovers and Strangers, based on a novel by David Grossman. Hot House is his latest film.

Dotan's directing work was called "Visually stunning and lyrical ... of breathtaking beauty and power" (Channel 5 NYC). The Hollywood Reporter considered Repeat Dive "a gripping study of the psychological effects upon those who live in a country where war and death are a constant reality," and the Los Angeles Times said that Dotan "has a keen eye for capturing a flickering spark of repressed emotions." La Presse called You Can Thank Me Later "Irresistibly funny and touching," and Variety considered it "heartbreaking" and "excellent."

Shimon will be in attendance in San Francisco, Berkeley and Palo Alto screenings.