Yona Rozenkier

 Director and Screenwriter

Born in Kibbutz Yehiam, 43 years old. Lifeguard and banana farmer by profession. Graduate of the Department of Film and Television at Tel Aviv University.

Feature Films

His debut feature film, “The Dive”, was the first to win the Tisch Fund for First Features with a $100,000 grant and was produced with the support of the Yehoshua Rabinovich Foundation for the Arts. The film won four awards at the Jerusalem Film Festival (including Best Debut Film and Best Film). At the Locarno Film Festival, it won the Young Jury and the Independent Critics Award. At the 3 Continent Film Festival, it received the Audience Award. The film was screened at many festivals, including TIFF, AFI Fest (Los Angeles), Warsaw, Prague, Dublin, Jeonju, Cleveland, and more.

His second feature film, “The Road to Eilat”, won first prize at the Sam Spiegel International Film Lab (Jerusalem, 2016) and was selected for the prestigious ATELIER at the Cannes Film Festival (2017). The film won the same three awards at the Jerusalem Film Festival as his previous film, “The Dive”—Best Film, Best Actor, and Best Cinematography. It was also nominated for 11 Ophir Awards and won Best Supporting Actor (Shmuel Vilozny). The Film was sold to all TVOD in North America: Apple, Amazon, YouTube, Google play, Fandango.

His third feature, “Wilde Haye”, received a development grant and The Main Scheme Production Grant from the Israel Film Fund. The screenplay was selected for the prestigious international film labs “Pop-Up Residency” (2020) led by Matthieu Darras, EAVE (2020), and Torino Film Lab (2020). In 2023, the project won first place at the pitching competition of the Jerusalem Film Festival. The film is set to be filmed in 2026 as a co-production with France, Switzerland, and Belgium.

Television

• “Kibbutznikim“– Co-creator of, a 40-episode daily drama series for HOT, which was one of the most-watched shows on the platform in 2020.
• “Fauda” Screenwriter for, 3 episodes,  Season 5 (2025).
• “Spearhead“– Co-creator (with Omri Shenhar) of, developing and writing the pilot for PRESSMAN Productions (NY) and Endemol Israel.
• “Muzungu“- Co-creator (with Yoel Rozenkier), produced by Endemol Israel.
• “The New Man” C0-Creator (with Nathan Fischer), Israel France Residency in SERIES MANIA 2025.

Short Films

• In 2019, he wrote and directed “Butterflies” (8 min), a short film produced with the support of the Makor Foundation, which was officially selected at the Cannes Film Festival, Toronto, Melbourne, and more.
• In the same year, he was one of five international directors selected for the Factory Sarajevo program, the opening project for the “Directors’ Fortnight” at the Cannes Film Festival (2019). As part of this, he wrote and directed “The Sign” (12 min), which was later screened at Sarajevo and Jerusalem Film Festivals (2019).
• In 2012, he wrote and directed “Raz and Raja” (16 min), produced as part of the “Water” project, which opened Critics’ Week at the Venice Film Festival (2012) and was screened at Busan, Montpellier, Clermont-Ferrand, São Paulo Mostra, and more.
• In 2011, he wrote and directed “Helmeted Life” (16 min), which was screened at the Shanghai International Film Festival, Rome International Film Festival, and more. The film won the Merit Award for Short Film at the La Jolla Film Festival (California).
• Additionally, he wrote the short film “Until the End of the Day” (2014), which won Best Short Film at the Shanghai International Film Festival and was screened at Jerusalem, Montpellier, Clermont-Ferrand, Plus Camerimage (Poland), the International Student Film Festival, and more.