Professor Aner Preminger is an Israeli film scholar, lecturer, screenwriter, director, and producer. Preminger attended Tel Aviv University where he earned a BA in Maths and Physics, before going on to do a Master’s in Film at NYU. In 1983, in the course of his studies, Preminger directed the short, Twenty Four Hours (37min.). Following his return to Israel, he began directing a string of TV documentaries and later, also went on to become an independent narrative filmmaker.
In the early nineties, Preminger made the films Front Window (1990), and Dummy in a Circle (1993); the latter of which won him the Wolgin Prize for Best Film at the Jerusalem Film Festival, and a slew of other awards at the Montpellier Mediterranean Film Festival, and the Bogota Film Festival. The film was also showcased at numerous other festivals, including the San Sebastián International Film Festival, Montreal World Film Festival, and the Tokyo International Film Festival. Leading lady, Hagit Dasberg’s performance in the film also won her an Ophir Award in the Best Actress category.
In the ensuing years, Preminger made the films On my Way to Father’s Land (1995); Last Resort (1999), which was shown at the Haifa International Film Festival; and Ransom of the Father (2000), which earned a Special Mention at the Jerusalem Film Festival, in The Jewish Experience section. His film, One Eye Wide Open (2008) received a Special Mention at the Milan International Film Festival. In 2012, Preminger made the film, Present Continuous.
In tandem with his filmmaking, Preminger has taught film studies at a great many institutions and was Head of Sapir Academic College’s Film Department. He has penned and published articles about Charlie Chaplin and François Truffaut and is the author of the books Enchanted Screen: A Chronology of Media & Language (1995), François Truffaut – The Man who Loved Films (2006), and Reflections on Cinema and Ethos: Israeli and Other Scenes (2017).
