Amos Guttman ( he, עמוס גוטמן; May 10, 1954 – February 16, 1993) was an Israeli

film director A film director controls a film's artistic and dramatic aspects and visualizes the screenplay (or script) while guiding the film crew and actors in the fulfilment of that vision. The director has a key role in choosing the cast members, p ...

, born in

Romania Romania ( ; ro, România ) is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern, and Southeast Europe, Southeastern Europe. It borders Bulgaria to the south, Ukraine to the north, Hungary to the west, S ...

. He directed the first ever Israeli

LGBT ' is an initialism that stands for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender. In use since the 1990s, the initialism, as well as some of its common variants, functions as an umbrella term for sexuality and gender identity. The LGBT term is a ...

-themed film and most of his films were based on events that happened in his own personal life.

Biography

Guttman was born in

Sita Buzăului Sita Buzăului ( hu, Szitabodza) is a commune in Covasna County, in the geographical region of Transylvania, Romania. It is composed of four villages: Crasna (''Bodzakraszna''), Merișor (''Almás''), Sita Buzăului and Zăbrătău (''Zabrató''). ...

, district of

Covasna Covasna (, hu, Kovászna, , german: Kowasna) is a town in Covasna County, Transylvania, Romania, at an altitude of . It is known for its natural mineral waters and mofettas. The town administers one village, Chiuruș ( hu, Csomakőrös). The ...

, in

Transylvania Transylvania ( ro, Ardeal or ; hu, Erdély; german: Siebenbürgen) is a historical and cultural region in Central Europe, encompassing central Romania. To the east and south its natural border is the Carpathian Mountains, and to the west the Ap ...

and emigrated to

Israel Israel (; he, יִשְׂרָאֵל, ; ar, إِسْرَائِيل, ), officially the State of Israel ( he, מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל, label=none, translit=Medīnat Yīsrāʾēl; ), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated ...

at the age of seven with his family. He studied film at

Beit Zvi Beit Zvi School for the Performing Arts, and a Theater ( he, בית צבי) is an acting school, and a theater located in the Tel Aviv District city of Ramat Gan, Israel, established in 1950. History Beit Zvi is the country's first theater school ...

. Between 1975 and 1982, Guttman directed three short films: ''A Safe Place'', ''Returning Premiers'', and ''Drifting''. In 1983, he directed his feature debut, '' Drifting'' (no relation to the earlier short film). He then directed three other feature films: '' Bar 51'' (1985), '' Himmo, King of Jerusalem'' (1987), and ''

Amazing Grace "Amazing Grace" is a Christian hymn published in 1779 with words written in 1772 by English Anglican clergyman and poet John Newton (1725–1807). It is an immensely popular hymn, particularly in the United States, where it is used for both ...

'' (1992). Guttman was an overtly

gay ''Gay'' is a term that primarily refers to a homosexual person or the trait of being homosexual. The term originally meant 'carefree', 'cheerful', or 'bright and showy'. While scant usage referring to male homosexuality dates to the late 1 ...

man, and most of his films—except '' Himmo, King of Jerusalem'', a film about the

1947–1949 Palestine war The 1948 Palestine war was fought in the territory of what had been, at the start of the war, British-ruled Mandatory Palestine. It is known in Israel as the War of Independence ( he, מלחמת העצמאות, ''Milkhemet Ha'Atzma'ut'') and ...

, based on a story by

Yoram Kaniuk Yoram ( or ) is a name derived from Jehoram (), meaning "Jehovah is exalted" in Biblical Hebrew, which was the name of several individuals in the Tanakh; the female version of this name is Athaliah. Notable people with the name include: *Yoram A ...

—explored aspects of life for LGBT individuals, including

AIDS Human immunodeficiency virus infection and acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (HIV/AIDS) is a spectrum of conditions caused by infection with the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), a retrovirus. Following initial infection an individual m ...

, which was the subject of his last film, ''Amazing Grace''. Many Israeli actors made breakthrough performances in Guttman's films, including

Jonathan Sagall Jonathan Sagall ( he, יהונתן סגל; born April 23, 1959) is a Canadian-born Israeli actor, director, producer and screenwriter.Alon Abutbul Alon Moni Abutbul (or Aboutboul, he, אלון מוני אבוטבול; born 28 May 1965) is an Israeli actor. He won the IFFI Best Actor Award (Male) at the 44th International Film Festival of India. Early life Abutbul was born in Kiryat Ata, ...

, Sharon Alexander,

Aki Avni Yitzhak "Aki" Avni ( he, אקי אבני; born ), is an Israeli actor, entertainer and television host. He appeared in the movie '' Free Zone'' with Natalie Portman. He also played the character Mohsen in the second season of the television series ...

, and

Rivka Michaeli Rivka Michaeli ( he, רבקה מיכאלי; born 14 April 1938) is an Israeli actress, comedian, television hostess, and entertainer. Early life Michaeli was born in Jerusalem, Mandatory Palestine, British Mandate of Palestine (now Israel). Her f ...

. Guttman was part of a group of young Israeli directors who called for quality films at the expense of commercial cinema. While he was an active director, He created a rich and stylish cinematic language, providing a unique sound. His films were notable for his attention to the visual and his distinct content.

Death

Guttman died in

Tel Aviv Tel Aviv-Yafo ( he, תֵּל־אָבִיב-יָפוֹ, translit=Tēl-ʾĀvīv-Yāfō ; ar, تَلّ أَبِيب – يَافَا, translit=Tall ʾAbīb-Yāfā, links=no), often referred to as just Tel Aviv, is the most populous city in the G ...

on February 16, 1993 of

at the age of 38. He was buried at

Kiryat Shaul Cemetery Kiryat Shaul Cemetery ( he, בית העלמין קריית שאול) is a 320-dunam (32 hectares) Jewish burial ground in Northern Tel Aviv near the neighborhood of Kiryat Shaul. On the east side of the cemetery is a large military cemetery. Found ...

in Tel Aviv. Even after his death, Guttman remains among the most influential people in Israel’s LGBT community. The 2013 film '' Snails in the Rain'', directed by Yariv Mozer, is dedicated to his memory.

Filmography

Cinema

*''Drifting'' (1975) - Short film *''Returning Premiers'' (1976) - Short film *''A Safe Place'' (1977) - Short film *'' Drifting'' (1983) *'' Bar 51'' (1985) *'' Himmo, King of Jerusalem'' (1988) *''

'' (1992)

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Guttman, Amos 1954 births 1993 deaths Film people from Tel Aviv People from Covasna County Beit Zvi School for the Performing Arts alumni Israeli film directors Israeli film producers Israeli male screenwriters LGBT film directors LGBT film producers Gay Jews Israeli gay writers Israeli LGBT screenwriters Romanian LGBT writers Gay screenwriters Jewish Israeli writers Romanian Jews in Israel Israeli people of Romanian-Jewish descent Romanian emigrants to Israel 20th-century Israeli Jews 20th-century Romanian Jews Transylvanian Jews AIDS-related deaths in Israel Burials at Kiryat Shaul Cemetery 20th-century Israeli screenwriters 20th-century LGBT people