Avi Nesher's award-winning films have played a major part in Israel's cinema rise to prominence during the last decade. During that period, four Israeli movies were nominated for Best Foreign Picture. During that era, Nesher was singled out and honored several times as one of Israel's all-time greatest filmmakers.
In 2018, Avi Nesher won a Lifetime Achievement Award from the Israeli Ministry of Culture and Sports. Also in 2018, Nesher released The Other Story, the most viewed Israeli film of 2018, which granted him the Best Director Award from The Israeli Film Critic Association.
In 2016, Nesher wrote, directed, and produced the post-war family drama "Past Life", which is set in Israel's revolutionary year of 1977 and is based on true events. "Past Life" was an official selection at Toronto International Film Festival and the Haifa International Film Festival, and received excellent reviews and close to 200,000 spectators.
In 2013, Nesher's film The Wonders was praised by film critic Yair Raveh, who called it the best Israeli movie of the year. It premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival and was selected as one of five exceptional films featured in the Contemporary World Speakers program.
In 2008, Nesher received the Outstanding Achievement Award at the Jerusalem Film Festival. In 2009, he received the Cinematic Excellence Award at the Haifa Film Festival and a star on the Avenue of the Stars.
In 2007, Nesher's "The Secrets" premiered as an official selection at the Toronto Film Festival, and was hailed by the Hollywood Reporter as "...witty and wise, sensual and emotionally overpowering - one of the best Israeli movies in recent years".
In 2005, Nesher directed the highly experimental political documentary "Oriental", which won the Spirit of Freedom Award at the Jerusalem Film Festival. "Brilliant and original" raved the Jerusalem Post.
In 2004, Nesher wrote and directed "Turn Left at the End of the World", a surreal deconstruction of Israel's immigration mythology. "Turn Left" became Israel's biggest box office success and one of the best-reviewed films of the era.
Nesher's earlier credits also include many films of note. His very first film, "The Troupe" was a controversial hit that shocked the Israeli establishment by ridiculing the IDF; it has gone on to become an Israeli cult classic and most recently was adapted as a very successful stage play by the Israeli National Theater.
Following his auspicious debut, Nesher wrote and directed "Rage and Glory", which tells the controversial story of a Jewish terror organization during the 1940s. "Rage and Glory" caused a political storm, was lauded by international critics, and in 2001 was selected by the Lincoln Center Film Society as one of the most important films in 50 years of Israeli cinema.
After seeing "Rage and Glory", producer Dino De Laurentis convinced Nesher to come to Hollywood. Consequently, Nesher wrote and directed the sci-fi mystery "Timebomb" for MGM and the sensual, supernatural mystery "Doppelganger" for 20th Century Fox, starring Drew Barrymore, both of which won prizes at the Avoriaz Science Fiction and Fantasy Festival.
Nesher's American success allowed him to produce, write, and direct the independent feature "The Taxman" which opened to extraordinary reviews.
