Jonathan Sagall ( he, יהונתן סגל; born April 23, 1959) is a Canadian-born

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 ...

i actor, director, producer and screenwriter.Jonathan Sagall’s filmography
(in Hebrew)

Early life

Sagall was born to a

Jewish Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...

family in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Several members of his family were survivors of the

Holocaust The Holocaust, also known as the Shoah, was the genocide of European Jews during World War II. Between 1941 and 1945, Nazi Germany and its collaborators systematically murdered some six million Jews across German-occupied Europe; a ...

, who then

immigrated Immigration is the international movement of people to a destination country of which they are not natives or where they do not possess citizenship in order to settle as permanent residents or naturalized citizens. Commuters, tourists, and ...

from Poland to

after

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, then to Canada. Sagall immigrated to Israel from Canada with his family at age 3. During the rest of his childhood, Sagall grew up in

Haifa, Israel Haifa ( he, חֵיפָה ' ; ar, حَيْفَا ') is the third-largest city in Israel—after Jerusalem and Tel Aviv—with a population of in . The city of Haifa forms part of the Haifa metropolitan area, the third-most populous metropol ...

, and eventually graduated from the

Hebrew Reali School , motto_translation = ''Walk Humbly'' , address = Hertzel 16 , city = Haifa , zipcode = 3312103 , country = Israel , coordinates = , other_name ...

in this city. His mother, Ruth Sagall, was an actress at the

Haifa Theatre The Haifa Theatre ( he, תיאטרון חיפה; ''Teat'ron Kheifa'') is the first municipal theater company of Haifa, Israel. Background Haifa Theater, Israel's first municipal theater, was established by Haifa mayor Abba Hushi. Together with the ...

Career

At a young age, Sagall did stagework for local Israeli theaters. His first appearance as an actor occurred in a 1977 Israeli television film which did not gain much attention. Sagall gained much success after he played Momo in the successful 1978 Israeli film ''

Lemon Popsicle ''Lemon Popsicle'' ( he, אסקימו לימון, Eskimo Limon) is a 1978 teen comedy-drama film co-written and directed by Boaz Davidson. The success of the film led to a series of sequels. The cult film follows a group of three teenage boys i ...

'' (''Eskimo Limon'') which became an Israeli

cult film A cult film or cult movie, also commonly referred to as a cult classic, is a film that has acquired a cult following. Cult films are known for their dedicated, passionate fanbase which forms an elaborate subculture, members of which engage ...

, and reprised the role in 6 of the 7 sequels: '' Going Steady'' (1979), ''Hot Bubblegum'' (1981), ''Private Popsicle'' (1982), ''Baby Love'' (1984), ''Young Love'' (1987) and ''Summertime Blues'' (1988). In 1979, Sagall was an actor in the New Media Bible Series as Joseph. In 1983 Sagall played the lead role in the drama '' Drifting'' directed by

Amos Guttman Amos Guttman ( he, עמוס גוטמן; May 10, 1954 – February 16, 1993) was an Israeli film director, born in Romania. He directed the first ever Israeli LGBT-themed film and most of his films were based on events that happened in his own pers ...

, where he played a lonely young homosexual man who attempts to find love and break into the movie business. During the mid-1980s, Sagall began producing and directing short films. He appeared opposite

Diane Keaton Diane Keaton ('' née'' Hall, born January 5, 1946) is an American actress and director. She has received various accolades throughout her career spanning over six decades, including an Academy Award, a British Academy Film Award, two Golden Gl ...

in the 1984

George Roy Hill George Roy Hill (December 20, 1921 – December 27, 2002) was an American film director. He is most noted for directing such films as ''Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid'' (1969) and ''The Sting'' (1973), both starring Paul Newman and Robert Re ...

film '' The Little Drummer Girl''. In 1992 Sagall was cast in the role of

Poldek Pfefferberg Leopold "Poldek" Pfefferberg (March 20, 1913 – March 9, 2001), also known as Leopold Page,Schindler's List ''Schindler's List'' is a 1993 American epic historical drama film directed and produced by Steven Spielberg and written by Steven Zaillian. It is based on the 1982 novel ''Schindler's Ark'' by Australian novelist Thomas Keneally. The film fo ...

'' which was produced and directed by

Steven Spielberg Steven Allan Spielberg (; born December 18, 1946) is an American director, writer, and producer. A major figure of the New Hollywood era and pioneer of the modern blockbuster, he is the most commercially successful director of all time. Spie ...

. As a screenwriter and film director Sagall created and directed the 1998 drama film ''Link City'' (קשר עיר), in which he also played a supporting role. Among the other films he created - ''The Jewish State'' and ''blood''. His 1999 film ''

Urban Feel ''Urban Feel'' ( he, Kesher Ir) is an Israeli film released in 1998. It tells the story of Eva and Robbie (played by Dafna Rechter and Sharon Alexander), a young Tel Aviv couple in a troubled marriage, which is rocked by the return of Emmanuel - ...

'' was entered into the 49th Berlin International Film Festival. In 2007 Sagall participated in the TV series ''HaMakom'' (''The Place'') in Channel 10. His 2011 film '' Lipstikka'' premiered at the

61st Berlin International Film Festival The 61st annual Berlin International Film Festival was held from 10 to 20 February 2011, with actress Isabella Rossellini as the President of the Jury. The Coen Brothers film ''True Grit'' opened the festival. 300,000 tickets were sold in total ...

and was nominated for the

Golden Bear The Golden Bear (german: Goldener Bär) is the highest prize awarded for the best film at the Berlin International Film Festival. The bear is the heraldic animal of Berlin, featured on both the coat of arms and flag of Berlin. History The winn ...

Filmography

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Sagall, Jonathan 1959 births Living people Male actors from Toronto Male actors from Haifa Hebrew Reali School alumni 20th-century Israeli Jews 21st-century Israeli Jews Jewish Israeli male actors Canadian emigrants to Israel Israeli people of Polish-Jewish descent Israeli male film actors Israeli male stage actors Israeli male television actors Israeli film directors Israeli film producers Israeli television directors Israeli male screenwriters 20th-century Israeli male actors 21st-century Israeli male actors 20th-century Israeli screenwriters 21st-century Israeli screenwriters Israeli gay actors Israeli gay writers Israeli LGBT screenwriters Gay Jews Gay screenwriters LGBT film producers LGBT film directors LGBT television directors 20th-century Israeli LGBT people 21st-century Israeli LGBT people