Avner Faingulernt (Hebrew: אבנר פיינגולרנט) is an Israeli independent filmmaker. He is professor and the dean of the Faculty of Arts, Kibbutzim College in Tel Aviv. He was chair of the School of Audio & Visual Arts, Sapir Academic College, founder of Cinema South Festival in Sderot, chief editor of the annual "Cinema South Notebooks" and "Cinema South The Curator Book". Faingulernt was also a visiting professor at Columbia University in New York City, the University of Haifa, the Film and TV School of the Academy of Performing Arts in Prague and at Filmakademie Baden Württemberg. He is an educator and a peace activist.
Life Avner Faingulernt was born in Kibbutz Bror Hayil, as most residents are, to Brazilian immigrants. His parents came from Rio de Janeiro in 1955. He studied in Sha'ar HaNegev Regional Council high school and worked at the agricultural fields.
Like many other Kibbutz youth Faingulernt chose to do a Service Year as a regional coordinator in Sha'ar HaNegev Regional Council and in Sderot. In 1981 he was recruited to the Israeli Defense Forces to the commando squad of Sayeret Matkal special ops unit. After his service he wandered for five years in Israel and all over the world. Among other occupations he worked as a Truck Driver of lighting and camera gear on movie sets and as a fisherman in New York City. According to him, his exposure to film making and especially his job as a lighting best boy filled him with great love towards cinema, and especially for Documentary film making. In 1990 he began his studies of Cinema and Psychology in the Tel Aviv University, where he also directed his first movies.
In 1992, at the time of birth of his first daughter, he returned to the Kibbutz where he was born and raised and dedicated himself to renew the local education system, an important component in the effort to draw back population to Bror Hayil. Afterwards he worked as a director of documentaries items for the show "Ha'She'elah Ha'ba'ah" on Keshet Broadcasting, produced by Yaron London and Nurit Kedar. In 1997, he directed and produced his first documentary film, along with Maya Bar, The First Will Be the Last.
The following stage in his life was to return living and working in the south of Israel creating his unique cinematic language. In 1999 he established an independent studio for documentary and experimental film making in Bror Hayil, and worked then in collaboration with Macabit Abramson and Lev Goltzer on his following films. He was among the founders of the School of Audio & Visual Arts in Sapir Academic College and had been the chair of the school from 2001 to 2018. He initiated and founded the Cinema South Festival in Sderot, the Cinema South Notebooks and the Cinema South The Curator Book, which are journals that offer a stage for articles and discussions regarding films. He completed his PhD studies in London.
Faingulernt is a father of four.
Academic career Faingulernt has a Bachelor's degree in Film & TV department and Psychology department at Tel Aviv University, 1993. In 1999, he was one of the people who initiated the Film Department with Professor Haim Bresheeth at Sapir Academic College. They opened the film school and Faingulernt became the chair in the end of 2001 after Bresheeth's voluntary exile to the UK.
Between the years 2005 and 2009 he studied for a Master's degree and a Doctor of Philosophy degree in the University of East London in England. The subject of his doctorate was: The Fathers Return in the Modern European Cinematic Odysseys.
In 2011, upon the opening of Master's degree program in the University of Haifa, Faingulernt was recruited as a part of its academic faculty. In 2012 he was a visiting professor at Columbia University in New York City. He also taught a practical workshop of "Desert and Journey", a collaboration between the Film and TV School of the Academy of Performing Arts in Prague and Sapir Academic College's master's degree program.
In 2014, Faingulernt founded, alongside Prof. Judd Ne'eman, the master's degree program of the School of Audio & Visual arts at Sapir Academic College. He was the head of the program until 2018.
In 2017–2018 Faingulernt had been appointed as visiting professor at Filmakademie Baden Württemberg, ludwigsburg.
Since 2019, Faingulernt is the dean of Faculty of Arts at Kibbutzim College in Neve Tzedek, Tel Aviv. He is leading an integration of arts, developing the faculty in community-based and experimental paths.
Faingulernt is a member of Israel Directors' and screenwriters' Union and Documentary Film Makers Forum. He was co-chair of this Forum in 2019–2020.
Political activity During the Operation Pillar of Defense in the Gaza Strip there was a consensus among residents of the Negev the supported the wide military operations, and the majority of them even demanded its expansion. Faingulernt was among the few of the area's residents who objected to that consensus. He published his stands against the military operation on different web forums and online media.
Filmography and exhibitions
Films
Film name and release year Synopsis and screenings Roles It Happened on Our Ground (2024) Three generations of women grapple with their family's legacy of the Holocaust, its affiliation with the Nazi regime, and their resistance. IT HAPPENED ON OUR GROUND is a sensitive exploration on guilt, memory, and the strength needed to heal.
Best Israeli film, Docaviv, Tel Aviv, 2024https://www.docaviv.co.il/2024-en/docaviv-winners-2024/ Director and cinematographer In The Desert – A Documentary Diptych (2018) A project of 5 years of shooting, developed to 2 documentary features: Omar's Dream and Avidan's Dream. Omar's Dream – The story follows Omar, A Palestinian man from Yatta, who re-settles his two wives and children from a comfortable house to his birth village at the desert.
Avidan's Dream – The story follows Avidan, a Jewish man from Susya who establishes an illegal farm with messianic purpose on lands that have been confiscated from Palestinians.
"The Best Cinematography Award" and "Best Director Award of Fipresci" at the "20th Docaviv", Tel Aviv May 2018; Filmfest Hamburg 2018; Doc Buenos Aires Fest 2018; Viennale – Vienna International Film Festival – 2018; Caligari cinema Ludwigsburg 2018; Millennium Documentary Film Festival Brussels 2019; AFO Olomouc Czech 2019; FAMU Prague 2019; JFF Berlin 2019, Reel Israel Documentary Film Festival 2020 Chelsea Theatre Chapel Hill, USA.
Cinematheques of Tel Aviv; Haifa; Jerusalem; Sderot; Ofakim; Hulon; Rosh Pina; Arad; Bet Gavriel; Inbal Cultural center Tel Aviv.