Film and televisionאביגיל שפרבר

Abigile Sperber

Avigail Sperber is an Israeli cinematographer and film and television director who founded Bat Kol, an organization for religious lesbians.

born 1973Founding Bat KolThe documentary HatalyanThe documentary Probation TimeLGBT activism in religious society

Born: 24 August 1973, Katamon
Occupation: cinematographer, film director, film producer, activist
Education: Ma'aleh School of Television, Film and the Arts
Founded: Bat Kol (1998)

Abigile Sperber was born in 1973 in Katamon

Sperber was born in 1973 in the Katamon neighborhood of Jerusalem. Her parents are Hannah and Rabbi Daniel Sperber, an Israel Prize laureate for Talmud research. She studied at the Horev Ulpana and did national service instead of military service.

She finished her studies at Ma'aleh Film School in 1998, and her student film won a prize among the graduates. In 1999 she directed My Sister Benchia, about a girl of Ethiopian origin her family adopted. She later studied screenwriting, and her final project dealt with religious lesbians.

In 2010 she made Hatalyan with Netalie Braun, about Shalom Nagar, the executioner of Adolf Eichmann. In 2014 she directed Probation Time, which won a DocAviv award. In 2023 she made a film about musician Inbal Perlmuter with Sharon Luzon, which won an Ophir Award.

Besides Bat Kol, she founded Shoval, which works for LGBT acceptance in religious society. She has served on the board of the directors' guild since 2012 and helped found a pluralist Jewish school in Tel Aviv in 2014. She came out as a lesbian at 25 and has two sons.