Tal Kantor (

Hebrew Hebrew (; ''ʿÎbrit'') is a Northwest Semitic languages, Northwest Semitic language within the Afroasiatic languages, Afroasiatic language family. A regional dialect of the Canaanite languages, it was natively spoken by the Israelites and ...

: טל קנטור) is an Israeli animation filmmaker and visual artist. She is a lecturer in the Screen-based Arts Department at the

Bezalel Academy of Arts and Design Bezalel Academy of Arts and Design () is a public college of design and art located in Jerusalem. Established in 1906 by Jewish painter and sculptor Boris Schatz, Bezalel is Israel's oldest institution of higher education and is considered the ...

. She is mostly known for her graduation short film ''In Other Words'' and for her debut short film '' Letter to a Pig'' (2022)'','' winner of several awards including the Grand Prix i
Anima Brussels
and the

Ophir Award The Ophir Awards (), full name: the Israel Film Academy Award, sometimes also 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 Tele ...

at the Israel Academy Awards. Kantor is known for her unique filmmaking technique which combines drawing, photography, video, painting, and animation. On January 23rd 2024, she was nominated for the

96th Academy Awards The 96th Academy Awards ceremony, presented by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS), took place on March 10, 2024, at the Dolby Theatre in Hollywood, Los Angeles. During the gala, the AMPAS presented Academy Awards (commonl ...

with her film '' Letter to a Pig'' (2022).

Career

Kantor studied at the Bezalel Academy of Arts and Design (Screen-Based Arts Department), where she graduated with a Bachelor's degree in 2015. After graduation, Kantor pursued a career as artist and independent filmmaker and animator, working on several documentary feature films as animation director and art director. She has also written, directed and animated several short films, including '' Letter to a Pig'' (2022) and ''Yellow Light'' (2023). Kantor has participated in several artist residencies, including the CICLIC ANIMATION residency in

Vendôme Vendôme (, ) is a Subprefectures in France, subprefecture of the Departments of France, department of Loir-et-Cher, France. It is also the department's third-biggest Communes of France, commune with 15,856 inhabitants (2019). It is one of th ...

, France; the Aesthetics and Bias residency in Krakow, Poland and

Jerusalem Jerusalem is a city in the Southern Levant, on a plateau in the Judaean Mountains between the Mediterranean Sea, Mediterranean and the Dead Sea. It is one of the List of oldest continuously inhabited cities, oldest cities in the world, and ...

, Israel; the New Arrivals residency in

Nijmegen Nijmegen ( , ; Nijmeegs: ) is the largest city in the Dutch province of Gelderland and the ninth largest of the Netherlands as a whole. Located on the Waal River close to the German border, Nijmegen is one of the oldest cities in the ...

, Netherlands. Her work has also been featured in several exhibitions, including the group exhibition at

Miraikan The , simply known as the , is a museum created by Japan's Japan Science and Technology Agency, Science and Technology Agency. It was opened in 2001. It is situated in a purpose-built building in the Odaiba District of Tokyo. It can be reached b ...

National Museum of Emerging Science and Innovation in Tokyo, presenting the films and art originals of the

Japan Media Arts Festival The Japan Media Arts Festival was an annual festival held since 1997 by Japan's Agency for Cultural Affairs. The festival begins with an open competition and culminates with the awarding of several prizes and an exhibition. Based on judging by ...

winners. Since 2019, Kantor is also a lecturer at the

Filmography

* 2015: ''Under The Small Sun'' (short film) - co-writer & director with Shahar Davis * 2016: ''In Other Words'' (short film) - writer & director * 2019: ''

Advocate An advocate is a professional in the field of law. List of country legal systems, Different countries and legal systems use the term with somewhat differing meanings. The broad equivalent in many English law–based jurisdictions could be a ba ...

'' (documentary feature) - animation art director * 2021: ''On This Happy Note'' (documentary feature) - animation art director * 2022: '' Letter to a Pig'' (short film) - writer & director * 2022: ''Five Studies'' (dance short film) - animation art director & animator * 2023: ''Inbal Perlmutter – If You Let Me Go'' (documentary feature) - art director * 2023: ''Yellow Light'' (short film) - writer & director

Recognition

Her graduation short film ''In Other Words'' (2016) has won 17 awards and was officially selected in over 100 festivals worldwide. In December 2023, Kantor's film '' Letter to a Pig'' (2022) was shortlisted for the

®. The film has won over 40 awards Including the Grand Prix in Anima Brussels, the

at the Israel Academy Awards, the Grand Prize for Best Narrative Short at the

Ottawa International Animation Festival The Ottawa International Animation Festival is an annual animated film and media festival that takes place in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. The OIAF was founded in 1975, with the first festival held from August 10 to 15 in 1976. Initially organized b ...

, Liv Ullman Peace Prize at

Chicago International Children's Film Festival In 1983, Facets Multi-Media founded the Chicago International Children's Film Festival (CICFF), the first competitive festival of films for children in the U.S. The impetus for the Festival came from a need to introduce new, culturally diverse fi ...

, Grand Prize at Animation Is Film festival. The documentary feature ''

'' (2019), on which Kantor was the animation and art director, won the

Emmy Award The Emmy Awards, or Emmys, are an extensive range of awards for artistic and technical merit for the television industry. A number of annual Emmy Award ceremonies are held throughout the year, each with their own set of rules and award categor ...

for Best Documentary at the 42nd News and Documentary Emmy Awards and the 2020

for Best Documentary. The film was also nominated for Best Short Animated Film at the 92nd Academy Awards.

References

External links

Tal Kantor
at

IMDb IMDb, historically known as the Internet Movie Database, is an online database of information related to films, television series, podcasts, home videos, video games, and streaming content online – including cast, production crew and biograp ...

Tal Kantor
at

Unifrance Unifrance is an organization for promoting French films in France and abroad. It is managed by the Centre national du cinéma et de l'image animée. It has several hundred members who include filmmakers, directors, screenwriters and agents. Fou ...

Tal Kantor
on

Vimeo Vimeo ( ) is an American Online video platform, video hosting, sharing, and services provider founded in 2004 and headquartered in New York City. Vimeo focuses on the delivery of high-definition video across a range of devices and operates on a ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kantor, Tal Israeli film directors Animation directors Israeli animators Living people 1988 births Bezalel Academy of Arts and Design alumni