David Gurfinkel

David Gurfinkel was born in 1938 in Tel Aviv

David Gurfinkel was born in Tel Aviv in 1938 to parents who came from Poland. His father was a carpenter and a partner in the Gan Rina cinema. He studied at the Tachkemoni school and then at the Bilu school.

In 1956, a few months before he was drafted, he began working at the Geva Films studios as an apprentice to an assistant cameraman. He served in the film unit of the IDF Spokesperson. Afterward he returned to Geva, shooting newsreels and information films.

His first feature film was Hole in the Moon, which began a long partnership with director Uri Zohar. He shot more than 80 feature films in Israel and abroad, including Big Eyes, The Delta Force and Nina's Tragedies. His work moved from newsreels to many film genres, international productions and television commercials.

In 2001 he shot the television film Sherman in Winter, based on a book by Amnon Dankner. He won 4 Ophir Awards for cinematography and the Israel Prize for cinema in 2015. He has 3 sons, including filmmaker Jonathan Gurfinkel.