After completing his military service, Ari Folman ventured out on his dream trip to circle the world with a backpack. Just two weeks and two countries into the trip, Ari realized traveling was not for him, so he settled into small guesthouses in Southeast Asia and wrote letters to his friends at home, letters in which he totally fabricated the perfect trip. One whole year of being in one place and writing down the fruits of his fantastical imagination convinced him to return home and study cinema. Between 1991 – 1996, he directed documentary specials for TV, mainly in the occupied territories. Ari made his initial attempt at animation in his series “The Material that Love is Made of" – each episode opens with five minutes of documentary animation which depicts scientists presenting their theories on the evolution of love. This successful attempt at documentary animation propelled Ari to develop the unique format of “Waltz with Bashir”.

Selected works:

Made in Israel (2001), Saint Clara (1996), Comfortably Numb (1991)

Selected awards:
  Golden Globe Awards for Best Foreign Language Film,Best Animated Feature (Asia Pacific Screen Awards),  Best Animated Feature (Los Angeles Film Critics Association), Special Jury Prize (Tallinn IFF), Nagrada publike / Audience Award (Warsaw IFF), Grand prize (Tokyo FF)

Selected festivals:
Cannes IFF, Sarajevo IFF, Toronto IFF, Ottawa IAF, London IFF, Melbourne IFF