Shimon Dotan, a renowned filmmaker, was born in Romania in 1949 and relocated to Israel in 1959. He spent his formative years in an agricultural cooperative before serving five years in the Israeli military as a Navy Seal. Dotan's academic pursuits led him to earn a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree at Tel Aviv University, where his student films garnered accolades, including Israel's Best Short Film and Best Director Awards.
Throughout his illustrious career, Dotan has received numerous awards and accolades. He is the recipient of the Special Jury Prize for Best World Documentary Feature at the Sundance Film Festival for his film "Hot House." Additionally, he has won the Silver Bear Award at the Berlin Film Festival for his film "Smile of the Lamb," the Best Film Award at the Newport Beach Film Festival for "You Can Thank Me Later," and multiple Israeli Academy Awards for Best Film and Best Director.
Dotan's feature films have been met with both critical acclaim and commercial success. His debut writing, directing, and producing effort, "Repeat Dive" (1982),which chronicles his experiences as a member of Israel's elite Navy Commando unit, won three Israeli Academy Awards, including Best Picture and Best Director, and was selected for the official competition at the Berlin and Chicago Film Festivals. He followed this success with two quasi-documentaries, "Souvenirs from Tel Aviv" and "Souvenirs from Hebron" (1982). Dotan's 1986 feature film "The Smile of the Lamb" (1986),written, directed by Dotan, and co-produced with Yonatan Aroch, won numerous awards, including the Silver Bear at Berlin and six Israeli Academy Awards, including those for Best Director and Best Picture.
In 1991, Dotan co-founded Cinequest Films Inc. with partner Netaya Anbar. He went on to direct and produce "Warriors" (1994),starring Macha Grenon, Gary Busey, and Michael Pare, and "Coyote Run" (1996),starring Peter Greene, Macha Grenon, and Michael Pare. Dotan's critically acclaimed "You Can Thank Me Later" (1999) was produced with Anbar and starred Ellen Burstyn, Genevieve Boujold, Amanda Plummer, and Mary McDonnell. The film won the Best Film Award at the Newport Beach Film Festival, was selected for the closing night at the Palm Springs Film Festival, and had its opening gala at the Montreal Film Festival.
Dotan has also produced a range of films, including "The List" (1999),"Cause of Death" (2000),"Wilder" (2000),"Hidden Agenda" (2001),"Watching TV With The Red Chinese" (2003),and "Frenzy" (2005). In 2006, he wrote, directed, and co-produced the documentary/feature "Hot House," which won the Special Jury Award for Best World Documentary at Sundance. Dotan's most recent production credits include the Canadian-Chinese coproduction "Diamond Dogs" (2007).
