Behind many of your favorite Israeli films and TV shows is a fund whose financial support makes these productions possible. Unlike many other entertainment hubs, where a singular national cinema agency supervises funding, there are six prominent film funds financing and supporting Israeli productions.
1. Israel Film Fund
Established in 1979, The Israel Film Fund has established itself as the main organization in the Israeli Film Industry which supports full length feature films.
It has an annual budget of $6 million which goes towards 12-15 films that the fund selects out of nearly 140 script submissions.
2. The New Fund for Cinema & Television
Established in 1993, the NFCT is an Israeli non-governmental organization positioned at the intersection of cinema and social change.
The NFCT has supported the production of hundreds of documentaries, films, and television dramas, while nurturing the artistic and professional development of talented filmmakers from diverse communities.
3. The Makor Foundation for Israeli Film and Television
The Makor Foundation was founded in 1996 as a nonprofit organization striving to encourage original film and television productions. The fund supports films in two genres: short narrative films and documentary films.
4. The Jerusalem Film & Television Fund
Recently established in 2008, The Jerusalem Film and Television Fund, also known as “the Fund,” is the first municipal film fund in Israel.
What’s notable about this fund is that they provide grants and cash rebates for films and series that take place in Jerusalem, or use Jerusalem’s post production facilities for both international and local projects.
Overall, “the Fund” works to support projects where Jerusalem’s human and cultural image plays a crucial part in the production.
5. The Yehoshua Rabinovich Foundation for the Arts
Founded in 1970 by the former mayor of Tel Aviv, Yeshoua Rabinovich, The Yeshoua Rabonivich Tel Aviv Foundation for the Arts is the largest film fund in Israel.
It invests in all kinds of productions: including feature films, documentaries, shorts, and animation. The venture of the foundation that deals solely with film is known as the Israeli Cinema Project.
6. Gesher Multicultural Film Fund
The Gesher Film Fund works to “bridge the gaps between the multiculturalism that characterizes Israeli society, and its representation in cinema and television.”
The fund mainly supports films by minority groups, and emphasizes the power of cinema’s ability to make important issues accessible to a large and diverse audience which in turn fosters social change. This fund has invested nearly $4 million in Israeli cinema, and they have supported over one thousand cinematic works.
