Highschool Animation Comes to Jerusalem
Innovation can take many forms: It can be an entrepreneur starting her own company, a hi-tech firm coming up with new solutions to ancient problems, or an artist creating a painting that brings out colors you never knew existed.
Jerusalem has been inspiring people for thousands of years. With its panoramic views and rich history, it’s no wonder that the city is a center for entrepreneurs from all fields.
Over the past decade, with the support of organizations like the Jerusalem Foundation and the Jerusalem Film and Television Fund, Jerusalem has become a national and international hub for film-making. Recently, famous actors like Natalie Portman and Richard Gere have turned Jerusalem into their “set”, and Oscar-winning movie Son of Saul was created in Jerusalem. Jerusalem is also becoming into an animation hotspot: Snowball Studios, which is based in Jerusalem, has done animation for Disney, Muppet Babies, and Barbie.
The city’s top-notch film schools, including the Sam Spiegel Film and Television School, and the Maaleh School of Television, Film and the Arts, mean that there’s a constant buzz of students taking their first step into the world of movies.
Now, those steps will start even earlier, thanks to two new projects, in partnership with the Municipality, the Ministry of Education, and the Charles Chlore Highschool:
- Israel’s first high-school animation matriculation track. This program will allow teenagers to start getting the technological tools and artistic practice they need to enter this growing field.
- A special gaming and visual technology high-school class, which will focus on the technical aspects of gaming and design.
Both programs will strengthen Jerusalem’s film echo-system and foster a spirit of artistic and technological innovation in the city’s next generation, carrying on Jerusalem’s 2,00-year old tradition of inspiring people around the world.
