Our Mission & History
HISTORY
Founded by Meir Fenigstein in 1982, the Israel Film Festival started out with six films and a dream. It has grown to become one of the most important Israeli cultural events in the world and the largest showcase for Israeli films in the United States.
The Festival is presented annually by IsraFest Foundation, Inc. – a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization based in Los Angeles.
For 36 years, the Israel Film Festival has played a vital educational role in spotlighting Israel’s thriving film and television industry. The annual event provides an intercultural exchange to advance tolerance and understanding among diverse audiences and to enrich the American vision of Israel’s social and cultural diversity. To date, the Festival has showcased nearly 1000 feature films, documentaries, television dramas, and student shorts to hundreds of thousands of film-goers, and brought more than 500 Israeli filmmakers to the U.S. to connect with the Hollywood Community, opening doors for distribution and co-production.
Meir Fenigstein, Steven Spielberg 
Meir Fenigstein, Brooke Shields
Past festival honorees included: Sacha Baron Cohen, Warren Beatty, Ram Bergman, Adam Berkowitz, Stanley Black, Jason Blum, Danny DeVito, Cameron Diaz, Kirk Douglas, Michael Douglas, Jim Gianopulos, Howard Gordon, Elliot Gould, Jonah Hill, Dustin Hoffman, Ashley Judd, Ryan Kavanaugh, Larry King, Martin Landau, Sherry Lansing, Avi Lerner, Mike Medavoy, Bette Midler, Arnon Milchan, Helen Mirren, Mace Neufeld, Avi Nesher, Amy Pascal, Natalie Portman, Carl Reiner, Rob Reiner, Tom Rothman, Jay Sanderson, Adam Sandler, James Schamus, Liev Schreiber, David Shore, Aaron Sorkin, Sharon Stone, Larry Tanz, Naomi Watts, Irwin Winkler and Edward Zwick, to name a few.
Past festival presenters included: Avi Arad, Warren Beatty, Peter Chernin, Kat Dennings, David Diaan, Cameron Diaz, Phil Donahue, Michael Douglas, Héctor Elizondo, Jim Gianopulos, Jeff Goldblum, Dustin Hoffman, Ashley Judd, Garry Marshall, Bette Midler, Larry Miller, Ivan Reitman, Seth Rogan, Isabella Rossellini, Adam Sandler, Naomi Watts, Jerry Weintraub, Rachel Weisz, Mort Zuckerman.
Aaron Sorkin, Helen Mirren, Meir Fenigstein 
Meir Fenigstein, Sharon Stone, Natalie Portman 
Jeffery Katzenberg, Arnon Milchan, Meir Fenigstein 
FLTR Lior Ashkenazi, Ania Bukstein, Mark Ivanir, Meir Fenigstein 
Sylvester Stallone, Avi Lerner
OUR MISSION
The mission of the Israel Film Festival is to brand Israel as the lively and innovative nation that it is; as well as shining a spotlight on Israel’s thriving film and television industry and enriching the American experience of Israel’s social and cultural diversity. As an international entertainment industry event, the festival has brought acclaim to both the films and participants and has opened new possibilities for cooperation and co-production between the U.S. and Israeli film and TV industries. Each year, the Festival explores Israeli society by premiering Israeli features, documentaries, television dramas and student shorts, and through conversations with visiting Israeli filmmakers. For 36 years, the Festival has created an exciting and artistic platform for engaging diverse audiences with the richness of Israeli life and culture.
MEIR FENIGSTEIN – FOUNDER/EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR
Meir Fenigstein is the Founder and Executive Director of Israfest Foundation, Inc. and the Israel Film Festival in the USA. For three decades, Fenigstein has worked hard to raise awareness of Israel’s cultural diversity and cinematic creativity. Once well known as Poogy, the drummer for the legendary Israeli rock band Kaveret, Fenigstein channeled his raw energy into a love of Israeli cinema. Fenigstein has earned industry respect and recognition for elevating the Israeli film and television industry in America, and for creating an artistic bridge that fosters cultural understanding between Israel, the U.S. and throughout the world. As a direct result of Fenigstein’s efforts, the ever-flourishing Israeli Film Festival continues to shape the image of Israel beyond the content conveyed to millions of people on a daily basis through the media.
