Shlomo Suriano was one of Israeli film’s pioneers. A photographer, director, and author, Suriano was born in Romania and moved to Israel in 1950. Once settled in Israel, he found work at Gevah Studios where he was making newsreels. After several years on the job, he stood down and began working as a freelance photographer for various foreign news agencies whilst, at the same time, directing a string of documentary shorts for the IDF Spokesperson’s Unit.
Suriano’s directorial credits include three feature-length films: Nini (1962), The 11th Commandment (‘ha-diber ha-11’) (1975), and The Amlash Enchanted Forest (1974) – an experimental animated musical film, made using stop motion technique, which was shortlisted for the Berlin International Film Festival. Additionally, Suriano made four documentaries about David Ben Gurion for Canadian Television.
Suriano is also the author of several books, including From the Yom Kippur War Until After the Separation of Powers: Everything you Wanted to Know about the War but the Censors wouldn’t Share with you (1974), and Adventures of Man (1985).