The Jerusalem Sam Spiegel Film School was founded in 1989 by the Israeli Ministry of Education and Culture and the Jerusalem Foundation, as Israel’s first independent, national school for film and television.  Among those who played key roles in the school’s establishment were: Israel’s fifth president, Yitzhak Navon; Jerusalem Mayor Teddy Kollek and Ruth Cheshin, Director, Jerusalem Foundation. At a ceremony at MOMA in 1996, it was renamed in honor of the Academy Award-winning American Jewish producer Sam Spiegel, with the support of the Sam Spiegel Estate. The director of the school is Dana Blankstein Cohen, who took over from founding director Renen Schorr in November 2019.

Alongside funding from the Culture Ministry, the City of Jerusalem, and others, the JSFS invests in young filmmakers telling the story of Israeli society with all its facets, placing the School as a hub for the flourishing Israeli cinema. Serving on its Board of Directors are senior figures in the arts and industry, as well as other public figures, all of whom give of their time and energy on a volunteer basis.

Currently JSFS has 160 students enrolled in two tracks: the full track, a four-year program; and the screenwriting track, a two-year program. Thus far, Sam Spiegel has produced over 800 graduates, 75% of whom are employed in the industry, forming the backbone of Israeli cinema and television. An ongoing dialogue with our students is conducted by our 75 instructors, 30 mentors/guidance counselors, 23 support staff, and dozens of guest lecturers.

The Jerusalem Sam Spiegel Film School is considered Israel’s leading film school, having won Best Film School 16 times. Named one of the 15 best film schools outside the US by the Hollywood Reporter four years in a row. Thus far the school has been recognized at 220 tributes and retrospectives in 56 countries at various festivals and institutions, including at MoMA, the Berlinale (twice), the London Film Festival, the Rotterdam Film Festival, the Sarajevo Film Festival, the Clermont-Ferrand Short Film Festival, Cambridge University Film Festival (twice), the Jerusalem Film Festival (three times), and the Haifa Film Festival (twice).

Every year, 30 shorts, dramas, and documentaries are produced at Sam Spiegel, most of which are screened at 400 festivals worldwide, among them Cannes, Berlinale, Venice, and Toronto, as well as student, LGBTQ, Jewish, and women’s, children’s, and youth film festivals.

In 2011, Sam Spiegel launched the Jerusalem International Film Lab, which brings 12 outstanding young local and foreign filmmakers to Jerusalem to work on their debut feature films. Housed at Mishkenot Shaananim Artists’ Residence, along with outstanding film editors from around the world. From its first year, the JSFL has become an international hub of full-length feature filmmaking, 70% of which were produced, screened, and won accolades internationally, including the Academy Award for Son of Saul (Laszlo Nemes, Hungary).

In 2020, Sam Spiegel began offering short courses open to the public, the purpose of which is to grant public access to the cinema and television arts, and enable a wider audience to expand their professional horizons.