Assaf Bernstein (; born 8 July 1970) is an Israeli

screenwriter A screenwriter (also called scriptwriter, scribe, or scenarist) is a person who practices the craft of writing for visual mass media, known as screenwriting. These can include short films, feature-length films, television programs, television ...

film director A film director or filmmaker is a person who controls a film's artistic and dramatic aspects and visualizes the screenplay (or script) while guiding the film crew and actors in the fulfillment of that Goal, vision. The director has a key role ...

and film producer.

Life and works

Bernstein was born in

Israel Israel, officially the State of Israel, is a country in West Asia. It Borders of Israel, shares borders with Lebanon to the north, Syria to the north-east, Jordan to the east, Egypt to the south-west, and the Mediterranean Sea to the west. Isr ...

and graduated cum laude from NYU Film School. Bernstein began his film career with two documentary short subjects, "It Belongs to the Bank" (1999), a "social documentary," which follows a woman bailiff's journey through Arab villages and urban slums as she seizes property from Israel's poor; and "Holy for Me" (1995),IMDB bio
accessed February 19, 2011. a "spoof" on tours, guides, and visits to the holy sites of Jerusalem, which won the 1995 Best Short Film award at the Jerusalem Film Festival. In 2007, Bernstein directed the 2007 film '' The Debt'' (Hebrew: HaChov or HaHov), starring Gila Almagor. The movie is about three former Israeli

Mossad The Institute for Intelligence and Special Operations (), popularly known as Mossad ( , ), is the national intelligence agency of the Israel, State of Israel. It is one of the main entities in the Israeli Intelligence Community, along with M ...

agents who must confront a secret from their past. Bernstein also wrote and co-produced the film, and later helped write the 2010 U.S. English-language remake, also titled '' The Debt'' and starring Oscar-winning actresses

Jessica Chastain Jessica Michelle Chastain (born March 24, 1977) is an American actress and producer. Known for primarily starring in projects with Feminism, feminist themes, she has received List of awards and nominations received by Jessica Chastain, various ...

and

Helen Mirren Dame Helen Mirren (; born Ilyena Lydia Vasilievna Mironov; 26 July 1945) is an English actor. With a career spanning over six decades of Helen Mirren on screen and stage, screen and stage, List of awards and nominations received by Helen Mirre ...

. In 2012 Bernstein directed The series ''Allenby Street'', which debuted in 2012, follows the story of a nightclub on Tel Aviv's Allenby Street, and one of the strippers, portrayed by Moran Atias, working in it. The series is based on the best-selling novel "Allenby Street," by Gadi Taub Bernstein also directed and served as showrunner for the complete first season of the internationally acclaimed television series ''

Fauda ''Fauda'' (, from ''fawḍā'', meaning "chaos" or "mess") is an Israeli television series developed by Lior Raz and Avi Issacharoff drawing on their experiences in the Israel Defense Forces (IDF). It tells the story of Doron, a commander in ...

''. The series is distributed by the online streaming service

Netflix Netflix is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service. The service primarily distributes original and acquired films and television shows from various genres, and it is available internationally in multiple lang ...

, billed as a Netflix original program, and premiered on 2 December 2016. In 2016, the show took six awards, including Best Drama Series, at the Israeli Academy Awards.Next season's Fauda to reflect real news, says creator
/ref> In December 2017, ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

'' voted ''Fauda'' the best international show of 2017, calling it, "The grittiest, tightest, most lived-in thrillers come from Israel." In 2018, the show took 11 Israeli TV Academy Awards, including best TV drama, best actor for Lior Raz and also best screenplay, casting, cinematography, recording, special effects and in other categories. In 2018 he wrote and directed the film '' Look Away'' starring

India Eisley India Eisley (born October 29, 1993) is an American actress. On television, she is best known for her roles as Ashley Juergens in the Freeform (TV channel), ABC Family series ''The Secret Life of the American Teenager'' (2008–2013), Audrina in ...

Mira Sorvino Mira Katherine Sorvino (; born ) is an American actress. She rose to stardom with her performance as a prostitute in the comedy film ''Mighty Aphrodite'' (1995), which won her both an Academy Award and a Golden Globe for Academy Award for Best S ...

and

Jason Isaacs Jason Isaacs (born 6 June 1963) is an English actor. He is best known for his portrayal of D.J. in ''Event Horizon'' (1997), Ronald Quincy in ''Armageddon'' (1998), Colonel William Tavington in '' The Patriot'' (2000), Michael D. Steele in '' ...

. ''Look Away'' is a

psychological thriller Psychological thriller is a Film genre, genre combining the thriller (genre), thriller and psychological fiction genres. It is commonly used to describe literature or films that deal with psychological narratives in a thriller or thrilling setting ...

that tells the story of Maria, an alienated high-school student whose life is turned upside down when she switches places with her sinister mirror image. Bernstein is currently working on a film adaptation of

Stephen King Stephen Edwin King (born September 21, 1947) is an American author. Dubbed the "King of Horror", he is widely known for his horror novels and has also explored other genres, among them Thriller (genre), suspense, crime fiction, crime, scienc ...

's ''

Rose Madder Rose madder (also known as madder) is a red paint made from the pigment madder lake, a traditional lake pigment extracted from the common madder plant '' Rubia tinctorum''. Madder lake contains two organic red dyes: alizarin and purpur ...

''.

Filmography

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Bernstein, Assaf Israeli Jews Israeli film producers Israeli film directors 1970 births Film people from Tel Aviv Israeli male screenwriters Living people