Osnat Trabelsi (in Hebrew: × ×¡× ×ª טר×'לסי; born December 21,
1965) is an Israeli film producer. She is known for producing
documentary films on political topics, especially those involving
Palestine, the Mizrahi experience in Israel, women's issues,
colonialism, racism, and more; and for melding her business with
activism, promoting filmmaking in the geographical and social
periphery of Israel, and creating access to Palestinian
cinema.Trabelsi was born and grew up in Ashdod, in the south of
Israel. Her mother, Rina, immigrated to Israel from Iraq, via Tehran,
and lived in a shanty-town allotted to Mizrahi immigrants in Hadera.
She later moved to Ramat Gan. Her father, Mordechai, immigrated from
Tunis as part of a youth program, and studied in an agricultural
school. He later reunited with his family, who came to Israel at a
later time, and lived with them in the moshav Beit Hagadi, also in
southern Israel. Upon their marriage, Trabelsi's parents moved to
Ashdod, where their children were born. Trabelsi is the eldest of
four, two boys and two girls.In 2011 Trabelsi adopted a daughter.When
she was 21, Trabelsi pursued film studies at Tel Aviv University. She
produced the annual Tel Aviv International Student Film Festival,
which has become extremely well-regarded in film circles in Israel
over the years. When she graduated, she went on to work as a
production coordinator on feature films, the first of which was Eran
Riklis' Cup Final (1991). Additional films followed, including Rami
Naaman's The Flying Camel (1994) and Riklis' Zohar (1993). On the
latter film set, in 1992, she met Juliano Mer-Khamis, and the two
embarked on a collaboration to create a film about Mer-Khamis' mother,
Arna, who ran a children's theater in Jenin. However, Arna Mer-Khamis
died in 1994 and film remained unfinished. Later, in 2002, when news
of the fate of some of the then-children who were part of the theater
project came to light, the two created the film Arna's Children,
produced by Trabelsi and directed by Mer-Khamis, following Arna's
political and human rights activism and the stories of the children
involved, three of whom died in various circumstances of resistance to
the occupying Israeli army. The film won the Best Documentary Award at
the Tribeca Film Festival.
1965) is an Israeli film producer. She is known for producing
documentary films on political topics, especially those involving
Palestine, the Mizrahi experience in Israel, women's issues,
colonialism, racism, and more; and for melding her business with
activism, promoting filmmaking in the geographical and social
periphery of Israel, and creating access to Palestinian
cinema.Trabelsi was born and grew up in Ashdod, in the south of
Israel. Her mother, Rina, immigrated to Israel from Iraq, via Tehran,
and lived in a shanty-town allotted to Mizrahi immigrants in Hadera.
She later moved to Ramat Gan. Her father, Mordechai, immigrated from
Tunis as part of a youth program, and studied in an agricultural
school. He later reunited with his family, who came to Israel at a
later time, and lived with them in the moshav Beit Hagadi, also in
southern Israel. Upon their marriage, Trabelsi's parents moved to
Ashdod, where their children were born. Trabelsi is the eldest of
four, two boys and two girls.In 2011 Trabelsi adopted a daughter.When
she was 21, Trabelsi pursued film studies at Tel Aviv University. She
produced the annual Tel Aviv International Student Film Festival,
which has become extremely well-regarded in film circles in Israel
over the years. When she graduated, she went on to work as a
production coordinator on feature films, the first of which was Eran
Riklis' Cup Final (1991). Additional films followed, including Rami
Naaman's The Flying Camel (1994) and Riklis' Zohar (1993). On the
latter film set, in 1992, she met Juliano Mer-Khamis, and the two
embarked on a collaboration to create a film about Mer-Khamis' mother,
Arna, who ran a children's theater in Jenin. However, Arna Mer-Khamis
died in 1994 and film remained unfinished. Later, in 2002, when news
of the fate of some of the then-children who were part of the theater
project came to light, the two created the film Arna's Children,
produced by Trabelsi and directed by Mer-Khamis, following Arna's
political and human rights activism and the stories of the children
involved, three of whom died in various circumstances of resistance to
the occupying Israeli army. The film won the Best Documentary Award at
the Tribeca Film Festival.
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