Sam Spiegel Film and Television School

Sam Spiegel Film and Television School is a film school in Jerusalem, Israel. Films by its students have won 300 prizes in international film festivals. The school has been the subject of 160 tributes and retrospectives.

The Jerusalem Film and Television School was founded in 1989 by the Israeli Ministry of Education and Culture and the Jerusalem Foundation. In 1996, it was renamed in honor of the Academy Award-winning American Jewish producer Sam Spiegel, following his family’s decision to contribute annually to the school.

Located in the Talpiot neighborhood of Jerusalem, the school has a student body of 170. It offers three tracks:

The school is a non-profit public organization. The chairman of its board of directors is Erez Vigodman. According to school records 80% of its graduates currently work in key professions in the film and television industry.

In 1988, a student revolt broke out in the film department of the Beit Zvi School of Art in Ramat Gan, then the sole film school supported by the Ministry of Education and Culture. Charging that Beit Zvi gave preference to the acting track, the film students demanded self-rule. The Education Minister at the time, Yitzhak Navon established a public inquiry that supported the principles of the students’ position. He then decided to create an independent school for film and television, the first of its kind in Israel, to be directed by filmmakers.

After consulting with mayors of different Israeli cities, the mayor of Jerusalem, Teddy Kollek, and Ruth Cheshin, president of the Jerusalem Foundation, saw a window of opportunity to “bring the ocean to Jerusalem”, in their words. They committed to match government funding. In July 1989, Ruth Cheshin asked film director Renen Schorr to draw up plans for the school, which opened in Jerusalem in November 1989.

At the onset, the academic program was three and a half years long. The school championed providing a broad professional foundation in all aspects of the film industry: writing, directing fiction, directing documentary, cinematography, production, editing, recording, and more. Emphasis was placed upon providing a theoretical and cultural foundation for its students, with a constant striving for excellence.

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