Broke barriers to become one of Israeli cinema’s first directors
The Israel Prize for Film Art was awarded this week – to Michal Bat Adam, a lecturer at TAU’s The Steve Tisch School of Film and Television, who has written and directed 13 full sized movies, among them: “Moments“ (1979), “The Lover” (1985), “A Thousand and One Wives” (1989), “Aya: Imagined Autobiography” (1994), Love at Second Sight (1999), Life Is Life (2003), Maya (2010), The Road to Where (2016) and more.
In addition, Bat Adam has starred in numerous movies, plays and on TV. She starred in many films by her late husband, Moshe Mizrahi, such as: “I Love You, Rosa” (1972), “The House on Chelouche Street” (1973) – both of which were nominated for an Oscar in the ‘foreign-language film’ category – “Daughters, Daughters” (1973), and Madame Rosa (1977), which won the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film.
Two years ago, Bat Adam was awarded the Ophir Award for Lifetime Achievement (2019). The Ophir Award is colloquially known as the Israeli Oscars or the Israeli Academy Awards – awards for excellence in the Israeli film industry awarded by the Israeli Academy of Film and Television
The Israel Prize committee said in a statement that, “Michal is a groundbreaking artist in Israeli cinema for five decades…[E]ven in a low-budget reality, at a time when there were still no government funds that supported filmmaking moviemaking as is customary today, Bat Adam has, over the years, produced 12 additional full length films that constitute a unique and original cinematic space. Her fruitful and meaningful film career is a significant inspiration for creators who dream of working in cinema.”
Bat Adam is a director, screenwriter and actress committed to a unique, female cinema – uncompromising and groundbreaking. As an inspiring teacher and creator, she continues to influence the students at the school, as well as creators in Israel and around the world. Tel Aviv University, the Faculty of Arts and the School of Film and Television congratulate Michal on receiving the award and wish her continued productive work.
Source: Tel Aviv University
