Professor Sami Shalom Chetrit
Dean, School of Audio and Visual Arts
Email: samic@sapir.ac.il
Rani Blair
Director of the Undergraduate Program
Email: ranib@sapir.ac.il
Sapir's School of Audio and Visual Arts is an artistic hub, equipped with the best teachers and filmmakers in Israel, who offer a dynamic and vibrant environment. Located in the Western Negev, rich in its inspiring landscapes, people, stories and historical encounters. The School offers a undergraduate and graduate degrees.
Students join a passionate creative community in the most comprehensive and diverse film school in Israel. A high-quality academic institution, the School has national and international reputation for cinematic excellence. It provides the broadest range of audio and screen arts studies in Israel, including: filmmaking, screen acting, TV, animation, music composition and soundtrack design. Inspired to reflect the narratives of Israel's southern periphery, students develop their own voice and vision. They become artists active in all the components of filmmaking, creating multiple award-winning productions. This imaginative ecosystem has transformed into a cultural center in the Negev.
The School offers students a competitive edge via practical experiences and collaborations together with workshops with leading Israeli and global cinematic auteurs. Our faculty is comprised of respected innovative industry professionals. They offer personal mentoring and industry wide contacts that enable graduates to connect to various productions.
The School in collaboration with the Sderot Cinematheque operates the annual Cinema South International Film Festival. An important international cultural event which exposes the students to the national and international film industry. The Festival offers students and alumni a platform to premier their films at a public screening before a panel of judges made up of industry leaders. Cinema South is also a significant practical training opportunity for hundreds of our students.
Alumni Careers: Graduates are equipped with invaluable in-depth knowledge, skills and connections in the industry. Over 2,000 graduates work in the film and TV, throughout Israel, in the Negev and abroad. Our recent 2019 Alumni Survey found that: 88% of graduates work in Film & TV industries and that 80% of graduates who live in the south work in Film & TV.
Some alumni choose to pursue graduate degrees such as Sapir's School of Audio and Visual Arts MFA programs. Others pursue graduate studies at leading Israeli and international institutions.
International Programs: The School of Audio and Visual Arts operates joint animation workshops with the The Lodz Film School, one of the leading institutions in Europe. The encounters explore Polish and Jewish culture and the deep impact that both had on each other.
