Asher Tlalim

Asher Tlalim was an Israeli filmmaker, born in Tangier, who grew up in Spain and since the beginning of the millennium was based in London. Tlalim was mostly known for his 1989-90 trilogy Kol ha’Anashim Ha’bodedim ; for his 1994 film Don’t Touch My Holocaust ; his critically acclaimed film Galoot, exile in Hebrew as well as his children's videos, Dig-dig-dug 1, 2 & 3 and others.
Tlalim's films have been shown in the Berlin Film Festival, Jerusalem Film Festival, Montreal Film Festival, Hamptons Film Festival, Chicago Film Festival, Sheffield Doc/Fest, and many others. Tlalim's work has received scholarly attention by academics such as Omer Bartov and others.
Tlalim lived in London and taught at the National Film and Television School.

Biography

Asher Tlalim was born in Tangier in 1950 under the name of Mesod Bentolila to Ester and Jacob Bentolila. From Tangier, the family moved to Malaga, Spain. The family came to Israel in 1960 and settled in B’nei Brak, where he studied in a religious high-school. In 1968 Tlalim was drafted to the Golani Brigade of the army. He was stationed in the Sinai during the War of Attrition and later also took part in the Yom Kippur War. Experiences from these wars served as the basis for his first films.
Tlalim lived in Jerusalem for many years. In 1998 he moved to London with his second wife, Ronit. He taught at the National Film and Television School whilst continuing to direct and produce films in the UK and Israel.

Personal life and death

Tlalim married his first wife Miri in 1975. They have two children: Tom Carlos and Annael. In 1993 Tlalim married his second wife, Ronit Yoeli-Tlalim and had two more children: Avigail and Jonathan. Tom Carlos is named after his uncle Carlos Bentolila Asher's younger brother, who was killed in 1973 in the Yom Kippur War. Tom Tlalim is an artist, musician and scholar. Anael Zimmerman is a speech therapist. Avigail Tlalim is an actor and theatre director.
Tlalim died from cancer in London, on 21 October 2022, at the age of 72.

Filmography

As director

2021 – Make Me A King
2021 – Hold My Hand
2020 – Woman of Valour
2020 – The Schnoz
2019 – On the Beaches
2019 – Home
2019 – Starboy
2017 – The Master of York
2017 – The Outer Circle
2016 – Mordechai
2015 – The Chop
2015 – The Guitar
2015 – samuel-613 Nominated for BAFTA
2012 – Hannah Cohen Holy's Communion
2010 – WITHOUT A HOME, documentary 100min
2003 – GALOOT documentary 100min
1999 – MY YIDDISHE MAMA’S DREAM documentary
1999 – SOUNDS IN SEARCH OF A HOME documentary 60min
1998 – HITCHHIKERS fiction 60min
1998 – SHALOM HAVER documentary 60min
1998 – BETWEEN THE CAROB AND THE OLIVE TREE doc 60min
1994 – DON’T TOUCH MY HOLOCAUST 150min documentary
1994 – YATZEK BE HIRIYA fiction
1994 – YOM EHAD HALEV NIFTAH, 60min documentary
1993 – HAKIVUN YERUSALAYIM, 60min documentary
1992–1993 – A PEOPLE AND ITS MUSIC: THE JEWISH MUSIC HERITAGE LIBRARY
1991 – TIME OF THE CAMEL, 100min fiction
1989–1990 – ALL THE LONELY PEOPLE, 150 min documentary, a trilogy about immigration, rock and maturing: FRIENDS WITHOUT FRIENDS, with ‘Natasha’s Friends’; TRANSPARENT, with Albert Amar and CLOSE BY, with Ehud Banay
1988 – THE MISSING PICTURE, 30min documentary
1987 – THE BATTLE OVER THE HERMON, 60min documentary
1986 – THE LAST NOMAD,
1984 – A DAY IN A DIARY
1982–1983 – ENCOUNTER IN THE DESERT, fiction, 240 min
1981 – HOLOCAUST AND REVOLT, 60 min documentary
1980 – EMEK HABAHA / THE VALLEY OF TEARS, 50 min doc
1978 – JERUSALEM 24/4/74, 60min fiction
1977 – THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS, 17min documentary
1977 – IT’S ALL MY FUN, 17min fiction

Children DVDs

1997 – EPHROHIM, 45min fiction/musical
1996 – HOLCHIM LAGAN, 50min fiction/musical
1995 – BA LI MESIBA LI, 50min fiction/musical
1995 – YELEDISH IN THE CIRCUS, 60min, fiction
1994 – A SMALL WORLD, 50min fiction/musical
1994 – YELEDISH, 50min fiction/musical
1993 – DIG DIG DUG 3, 60min fiction/musical
1992 – OD DIG DIG DUG, 60min,
1992 – DIG DIG DUG, 60min,