The guest of the 15º Monterrey International Film Festival, the Israeli director and producer Avi Nesher, gave an interview about his beginnings in film.  

Before the screening of his film The Matchmakers, Neshershared a few minutes to talk about how he become one of the most innovative directors from Israel. 

“I used to be a jazz musician, I wasn’t that good, I wrote a novel, I don’t know if I was good at it, I always liked arts, and as a kid I went to the movies a lot.

“When I went to the Columbia University I realized that everything I like about art was in film, like music, stories and the fact that you can make it possible with a group of people», said the director born in Ramat Gan, Israel.

Nesher said that his experience with the special forces of the Israeli army in 1971 was a watershed for his first script.

“I never thought of becoming a director, yet the army was the best film school”.

«War changes you completely, we all have a life and no one knows anything about life until you come to war and see people die and see people take the lives of others,» he said.

He compared the army’s fear with the fear of releasing a film that is already done, but noted that in both cases he trusts his intuition and teamwork.

The director of The Othe Story mentioned that his stay in New York allowed him to have an international vision of the film and to differentiate the way to make films in two different countries.

“I made Israeli and American films, and I see the difference, the Israelis are emotional and the Americans are more intellectual. Everything Israel has to do with the identity, the home, and the memory, and I take away the Americans from me, so every time I make an Israeli movie it’s like going to dinner with my parents, it’s very meaningful”.

“American film is a business that has produced great productions but is not personal, for me it is more important to have a dialogue with myself what to do business”, he said. 

Distributing Israeli cinematographic work is valuable for the director, so he pointed out the importance of cinemas and spaces such as festivals.

In the end, he commented on the film The Matchmakers, premiered in the official selection at the Toronto International Film Festival in 2010.