Films A film also called a movie, motion picture, moving picture, picture, photoplay or (slang) flick is a work of visual art that simulates experiences and otherwise communicates ideas, stories, perceptions, feelings, beauty, or atmosphere ...

produced in

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 ...

and the

British Mandate for Palestine The Mandate for Palestine was a League of Nations mandate for British administration of the territories of Palestine and Transjordan, both of which had been conceded by the Ottoman Empire following the end of World War I in 1918. The manda ...

before 1960:

Overview

Prior to the establishment of the state

Film Industry in

Palestine __NOTOC__ Palestine may refer to: * State of Palestine, a state in Western Asia * Palestine (region), a geographic region in Western Asia * Palestinian territories, territories occupied by Israel since 1967, namely the West Bank (including East ...

during the

British Mandate of Palestine British Mandate of Palestine or Palestine Mandate most often refers to: * Mandate for Palestine: a League of Nations mandate under which the British controlled an area which included Mandatory Palestine and the Emirate of Transjordan. * Mandatory P ...

and afterwards during the first years of the state, didn't actually exist. Movies were filmed in Palestine since the time of the beginning of the

silent film A silent film is a film with no synchronized recorded sound (or more generally, no audible dialogue). Though silent films convey narrative and emotion visually, various plot elements (such as a setting or era) or key lines of dialogue may, when ...

era during the 19th century, but an actual movie industry was not really conceived, both in the period of the

Yishuv Yishuv ( he, ישוב, literally "settlement"), Ha-Yishuv ( he, הישוב, ''the Yishuv''), or Ha-Yishuv Ha-Ivri ( he, הישוב העברי, ''the Hebrew Yishuv''), is the body of Jewish residents in the Land of Israel (corresponding to the s ...

, and also during the first years of the state. The films which were produced were rare, and usually didn't match the quality of the films which were imported from abroad. Initially the industry, focused particularly on producing propaganda films and news broadcasts which were shown in the Israeli cinemas during that time before the movies were shown.

The 1950s

During the 1950s, some development was made. Israeli cinema studios were established such as

Geva Films Geva Films ( he, סרטי גבע, ''Sirtei Geva''), or the Geva film studio and laboratory was one of the first film studios in Israel. It was established in 1949 in the city of Givatayim near Tel Aviv by , Yitzhak Agadati and Yosef Navon. It ...

" (סרטי גבע) and the "Israel Film Studios" (אולפני ההסרטה בישראל) in

Herzliya Herzliya ( ; he, הֶרְצְלִיָּה ; ar, هرتسليا, Hirtsiliyā) is an affluent city in the central coast of Israel, at the northern part of the Tel Aviv District, known for its robust start-up and entrepreneurial culture. In it h ...

, and several films which contained plot were created. In 1954, the law to encourage the production of Israeli film (החוק לעידוד הסרט הישראלי) was passed, and in 1955, the most important Israeli film which was filmed until then was produced - ''

Hill 24 Doesn't Answer ''Hill 24 Doesn't Answer'' ('' he, גבעה 24 אינה עונה; ''), the first feature film produced in Israel, is a 1955 Israeli war film directed by Thorold Dickinson. It was entered into the 1955 Cannes Film Festival. The plot revolves aro ...

'' (גבעה 24 אינה עונה). In the late 1950s, the Israeli film industry was still in its early stages and hadn't managed to create for itself unique characteristics, its own language, or even a real industry. The films were mostly patriotic in nature. The films were not simply "action" or "crime" films, they could belong to these genres but tended to include a very Israeli perspective and touch due to very recent events in the nation's tenuous formation.

Israeli films prior to 1960

After the establishment of the State of Israel

1948

1949

1950

1951

1955

1956

1959

Pre-State of Israel

External links

Israeli film
at the

Internet Movie Database IMDb (an abbreviation of Internet Movie Database) is an online database of information related to films, television series, home videos, video games, and streaming content online – including cast, production crew and personal biographies, ...

''Oded Hanoded''
first Israeli Cinema drama film]
''Va'Yehi Be'May''
first Israeli cinema comedy film]
Haim Halachmi
first Israeli film director] {{DEFAULTSORT:Israeli Films: Pre 1960 Lists of 1910s films, Israeli

Israeli Israeli may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to the State of Israel * Israelis, citizens or permanent residents of the State of Israel * Modern Hebrew, a language * ''Israeli'' (newspaper), published from 2006 to 2008 * Guni Israeli ...