Danae Elon (; born December 23, 1970) is a documentary filmmaker and cinematographer from Jerusalem. She is based in Montreal, Quebec.
Biography Danae Elon was born in Jerusalem. She is the daughter of journalist and author Amos Elon, and Beth Elon. Danae Elon graduated from New York University in 1995.
Film career In 2009 she received the Guggenheim fellowship in the category of film. Her work has often centered around Jerusalem and the Palestinian struggle. Wild Mint, which she directed and produced, and Cut, which she photographed and co-produced, were the first films in which she attempted to reconcile state ideology and reality.
In 2001 Elon produced her first critically acclaimed film, Another Road Home, which received a grant from the Sundance Institute Documentary Program in 2003. The film premiered at the 2004 Tribeca Film Festival and was showcased in over 20 international film festivals, including IDFA, Los Angeles Film Festival, Jerusalem Film Festival, Hot Docs, Encounters South Africa and Gothenburg. Another Road Home was theatrically released in 2005 and was shown in 15 US cities. It was broadcast on the Sundance channel, BBC, Finnish, Belgian, New Zealand, Swedish, and on both Al Jazeera and Israeli television. It was cited as one of the most important films about the subject.
Her second feature documentary, Partly Private, was about male circumcision. An Israeli-Canadian co-production, it was screened on ARTE France, TV Ontario, Canal Vie, TV2 Denmark, and Channel 8 Israel.
Three other critically acclaimed and award winning documentary films by Elon are P.S. Jerusalem, The Patriarch's Room and A Sister's Song.
Academic career Elon was a lecturer at the Sapir Academic College and head of the Israeli documentary program at Cinema South International Film Festival. She is currently an adjunct lecturer at Queens University at Kingston.
Awards and recognition Her first documentary film, Never Again Forever, was released in 1996. It showcased in over 25 international film festivals and received a Golden Spire award from the San Francisco International Film Festival as well as an achievement award from the Chicago International Film Festival.
Partly Private premiered in the 2009 Tribeca film festival and won the Best New York Documentary award.
Elon won two awards for Another Road Home: a bronze medal from the Warsaw International Film Festival, and best documentary from Tursak Film Festival in Istanbul.
The Patriarch's Room won Best research and Music award at the Docaviv film festival as well as Best documentary at the Toronto Jewish Film Festival and Best Documentary at the Beyond Borders Film Festival in Greece. For A Sister's Song she received the AIDC Award for innovation in documentary filmmaking as well as an Iris Award for cinematography.
Filmography YearTitleCredited asFestivals and awardsRef.1996Never Again, ForeverDirector, producerInternational Documentary Film Festival Amsterdam Hamptons International Film Festival
New York Jewish Film Festival
São Paulo International Film Festival
San Francisco International Film Festival – Golden Spire Award
Chicago International Film Festival – Achievement Award1998Wild MintDirector, producerJerusalem International Film Festival Lisbon International Film Festival2000CutProducer, cinematographerInternational Documentary Film Festival Amsterdam Jerusalem International Film Festival – Special Award for Cinematography
Dok Leipzig2005Another Road HomeDirector, producer, writer, additional cinematographerHot Docs Tribeca Film Festival
Los Angeles Film Festival
Jerusalem International Film Festival
Tursak International Film Festival – 1st Prize and Jury Prize
Göteborg Film Festival
Encounters South African International Documentary Festival
Jewish Motifs International Film Festival – Bronze Medal2009Partly PrivateDirector, writerTribeca Film Festival – Best New York Documentary Jewish Motifs International Film Festival – Best Representation of Israeli and Jewish contemporary Culture2015P.S. JerusalemDirector, producer, cinematographerToronto International Film Festival Berlin International Film Festival
Doc NYC
Rencontres internationales du documentaire de Montréal – Student Choice Award
Haifa International Film Festival
The Cinema South International Film Festival
London Human Rights Watch Film Festival
Geneva Human Rights Watch Film Festival
Melbourne International Film Festival
Zurich Human Rights Watch Film Festival
Visioni Fuori Raccordo Film Festival
Biografilm Festival
Giffoni Film Festival2016The Patriarch's RoomDirector, producer, writerDoc Aviv – Best Research Award & Special Mention of the European Critique Circle New York Jewish Film Festival2018A Sister's SongDirector, producerDoc Aviv – AIDC Award for Innovative Filmmaking 2025Rule of StoneBedrockProducer
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