Shmuel Hasfari (Hebrew: שמואל הספרי; b. 26 August 1954) is an Israeli

playwright A playwright or dramatist is a person who writes plays. Etymology The word "play" is from Middle English pleye, from Old English plæġ, pleġa, plæġa ("play, exercise; sport, game; drama, applause"). The word "wright" is an archaic English ...

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. ...

. He was artistic director of the

Cameri Theatre The Cameri Theater ( he, התיאטרון הקאמרי, ''HaTeatron HaKameri''), established in 1944 in Tel Aviv, is one of the leading theaters in Israel, and is housed at the Tel Aviv Performing Arts Center. History The Cameri theater was found ...

Biography

Shmuel Hasfari was born in

Ramat Gan Ramat Gan ( he, רָמַת גַּן or , ) is a city in the Tel Aviv District of Israel, located east of the municipality of Tel Aviv and part of the Tel Aviv metropolitan area. It is home to one of the world's major diamond exchanges, and many ...

Holocaust survivor Holocaust survivors are people who survived the Holocaust, defined as the persecution and attempted annihilation of the Jews by Nazi Germany and its allies before and during World War II in Europe and North Africa. There is no universally accep ...

parents from

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It is divided into 16 administrative provinces called voivodeships, covering an area of . Poland has a population of over 38 million and is the fifth-most populous ...

; theirs was a religious family. He began theater studies at

Tel Aviv University Tel Aviv University (TAU) ( he, אוּנִיבֶרְסִיטַת תֵּל אָבִיב, ''Universitat Tel Aviv'') is a public research university in Tel Aviv, Israel. With over 30,000 students, it is the largest university in the country. Locate ...

but left to join an alternative theater company that won first prize at the

Acco Festival of Alternative Israeli Theatre The Acco Festival of Alternative Israeli Theatre (also Acco Fringe Theatre Festival, Israel Fringe Theatre Festival) is a four-day performing arts festival held annually in the city of Acre, Israel during the Intermediate Days of the Sukkot ...

in 1982.Shmuel Hasfari, Institute for the Translation of Hebrew Literature
Hasfari is married to actress and writer

Hanna Azoulay Hasfari Hanna Azoulay-Hasfari ( he, חנה אזולאי-הספרי; born June 29, 1960) is an Israeli actress, screenwriter, playwright, film director and a two-time winner of the Ophir Award. She is a women's rights activist, and has dedicated her c ...

. They have three sons and live in Tel Aviv.

Plays

His works include ''Kiddush'', ''Shivaa'', ''Hametz'', ''Acordionim'', ''Tashmad'' and ''Milano''. ''Huppah Shchorah'' (Black Wedding Canopy) was performed in 1981 at the Acco Festival.

Awards and recognition

Hasfari is considered one of Israel's leading playwrights. He won an

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 ...

for best director for his 1994 film, ''

Sh'Chur ''Sh'Chur'' () is a 1994 Israeli drama film starring Gila Almagor, Ronit Elkabetz and Hanna Azoulay-Hasfari. It was written by Hanna Azoulay Hasfari and directed by her partner Shmuel Hasfari. Sh'Chur received critical acclaim and was the 1994 o ...

''. It was also the 1994 official Israeli submission for the

Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film The Academy Award for Best International Feature Film (known as Best Foreign Language Film prior to 2020) is one of the Academy Awards handed out annually by the U.S.-based Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS). It is given to a ...

. His play, ''Isha. Ba-al. Bayit (The Master of the House)'' won a 2003 Award for Best Play in Israel,. While still running at the Cameri Theater, it had its American premiere at the Laguna Playhouse in March 2007, directed by Richard Stein.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hasfari, Shmuel 1954 births Living people Israeli male dramatists and playwrights Jewish dramatists and playwrights Israeli film directors Israeli people of Polish-Jewish descent