Yossef (Joseph) Cedar (

Hebrew Hebrew (; ; ) is a Northwest Semitic language of the Afroasiatic language family. Historically, it is one of the spoken languages of the Israelites and their longest-surviving descendants, the Jews and Samaritans. It was largely preserved ...

: יוסף סידר; born August 31, 1968) is 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 ...

and

screenwriter A screenplay writer (also called screenwriter, scriptwriter, scribe or scenarist) is a writer who practices the craft of screenwriting, writing screenplays on which mass media, such as films, television programs and video games, are based. ...

Biography

Cedar was born to an

Orthodox Jewish Orthodox Judaism is the collective term for the traditionalist and theologically conservative branches of contemporary Judaism. Theologically, it is chiefly defined by regarding the Torah, both Written and Oral, as revealed by God to Moses on M ...

family in New York City. His father is biochemist

Howard Cedar Howard Chaim Cedar (Hebrew: חיים סידר; born January 12, 1943) is an Israeli American biochemist who works on DNA methylation, a mechanism that turns genes on and off. Biography Howard Chaim Cedar was born in the United States. He rece ...

. When Joseph was 6, his family moved to Israel, and he grew up in the

Bayit VeGan Bayit VeGan ( he, בית וגן, lit. ''House and Garden'') is a neighborhood in southwest Jerusalem. Bayit VeGan is located to the east of Mount Herzl and borders the neighborhoods of Kiryat HaYovel and Givat Mordechai. History Bronze Age A 4 ...

neighborhood in Jerusalem. He studied in a Yeshiva High School. In the Israeli army he served as a

paratrooper A paratrooper is a military parachutist—someone trained to parachute into a military operation, and usually functioning as part of an airborne force. Military parachutists (troops) and parachutes were first used on a large scale during World ...

. After graduating in philosophy and history of theatre from the

Hebrew University of Jerusalem The Hebrew University of Jerusalem (HUJI; he, הַאוּנִיבֶרְסִיטָה הַעִבְרִית בִּירוּשָׁלַיִם) is a public research university based in Jerusalem, Israel. Co-founded by Albert Einstein and Dr. Chaim Weiz ...

, he studied cinema studies at

New York University New York University (NYU) is a private research university in New York City. Chartered in 1831 by the New York State Legislature, NYU was founded by a group of New Yorkers led by then-Secretary of the Treasury Albert Gallatin. In 1832, the ...

Film career

When he returned to Israel, he started working on the screenplay for his debut film, '' Time of Favor'' (2000), for which he moved and lived for two years in the

Israeli settlement Israeli settlements, or Israeli colonies, are civilian communities inhabited by Israeli citizens, overwhelmingly of Jewish ethnicity, built on lands occupied by Israel in the 1967 Six-Day War. The international community considers Israeli se ...

Dolev. The film won six

Ophir Award The Ophir Awards ( he, פרס אופיר), colloquially known as the Israeli Oscars or the Israeli Academy Awards, are film awards for excellence in the Israeli film industry awarded by the Israeli Academy of Film and Television. The award, named ...

s, including Best Picture. His second film was ''

Campfire A campfire is a fire at a campsite that provides light and warmth, and heat for cooking. It can also serve as a beacon, and an insect and predator deterrent. Established campgrounds often provide a stone or steel fire ring for safety. Campfires ...

'' (2004), which won five Ophir Awards including Best Picture, with two, Best Director and Best Screenplay, going to Cedar. For '' Beaufort'' (2007), his third film, he received the Silver Bear award for Best Director in the

Berlin International Film Festival The Berlin International Film Festival (german: Internationale Filmfestspiele Berlin), usually called the Berlinale (), is a major international film festival held annually in Berlin, Germany. Founded in 1951 and originally run in June, the festi ...

. ''Beaufort'' received an Academy Award nomination for

Best Foreign Language Film This is a list of categories of awards commonly awarded through organizations that bestow film awards, including those presented by various film, festivals, and people's awards. Best Actor/Best Actress *See Best Actor#Film awards, Best Actress#F ...

, the first such nomination for an Israeli film in 24 years. It received four Ophir Awards and was based on Cedar's own experiences during his army service on Israel's border with Lebanon. His film ''

Footnote A note is a string of text placed at the bottom of a page in a book or document or at the end of a chapter, volume, or the whole text. The note can provide an author's comments on the main text or citations of a reference work in support of th ...

'' premiered In Competition at the

2011 Cannes Film Festival The 64th Cannes Film Festival was held from 11 to 22 May 2011. American actor Robert De Niro served as the president of the jury for the main competition and French filmmaker Michel Gondry headed the jury for the short film competition. South Ko ...

. The film was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film. Cedar is an

Orthodox Jew Orthodox Judaism is the collective term for the traditionalist and theologically conservative branches of contemporary Judaism. Theologically, it is chiefly defined by regarding the Torah, both Written and Oral, as revealed by God to Moses on ...

. His films are known to touch delicate issues of

Israeli society The State of Israel had a population of approximately 9,506,100 inhabitants as of May 2022. Some 73.9% were Jews of all backgrounds (about 7,021,000 individuals), 21.1% were Arab of any religion other than Jewish (about 2,007,000 individuals), ...

. Israeli critic Yair Rave wrote, "One of the reasons I like Cedar's films so much is... his ability to merge the Israeli spirit... with the universal cinematic codes."

Awards and recognition

He has won a

Silver Bear The Berlin International Film Festival (german: Internationale Filmfestspiele Berlin), usually called the Berlinale (), is a major international film festival held annually in Berlin, Germany. Founded in 1951 and originally run in June, the fes ...

and an

for Best Director, and an Ophir Award for writing a Best Screenplay. He also won the best screenplay award at the

for his film ''

'' (2011).

Filmography

*'' Time of Favor'' (2000) *''

'' (2004) *'' Beaufort'' (2007) *''

'' (2011) *'' Norman: The Moderate Rise and Tragic Fall of a New York Fixer'' (2016)

Television

* ''Our Boys'' (2019)-producer and director.

References

External links

*
Joseph Cedar is in the Oscar running
''

Los Angeles Times The ''Los Angeles Times'' (abbreviated as ''LA Times'') is a daily newspaper that started publishing in Los Angeles in 1881. Based in the LA-adjacent suburb of El Segundo since 2018, it is the sixth-largest newspaper by circulation in the Un ...

'' interview {{DEFAULTSORT:Cedar, Joseph 1968 births Israeli Orthodox Jews Israeli film directors Israeli male screenwriters People from Jerusalem American Orthodox Jews Living people Silver Bear for Best Director recipients American emigrants to Israel Cannes Film Festival Award for Best Screenplay winners