Gilberto Tofano was an Italian film and theatre director who was predominantly active in Israel. Tofano arrived in Israel in the mid-1960s as part of the team that was in charge of launching Israeli television. He later branched out to theatre and began directing at a host of Israeli venues – first, at the Bimot Theatre and later, at Haifa Theatre where he spent a brief stint as Artistic Director in the late eighties. In 1969, having already made a number of shorts, Tofano directed Siege – his one and only feature-length film. The film, based on a concept by actress, Gila Almagor, was written by Tofano and the late Dahn Ben Amotz. Siege was a tremendous success and even earned a Palme d’Or nomination at the Cannes Film Festival.
