Tali Shalom Ezer

Shalom-Ezer was born and raised in Kfar Saba, Israel, to an immigrant mother of Ashkenazi Jewish (Romania) descent and an immigrant father of Iraqi Jewish descent. During her school years, Shalom-Ezer became involved in a local theatre group. During her military service in the Israel Defense Forces (IDF), Shalom-Ezer trained and worked as an IDF Psychological Evaluator, performing psychometric tests on young Israelis preparing for enlistment. Shalom-Ezer's ongoing interest in psychology was greatly influenced by her mother, who worked as a psychiatric nurse, focusing on the use of psychodrama with her patients. All of her films have a psychological dimension to them, and Shalom-Ezer sees there to be a strong connection between Cinema and Psychology. Shalom-Ezer undertook some initial training in acting at Beit Zvi School of Performing Arts, though soon decided to shift her focus to Directing. She continued her studies at Tel Aviv University, first in Theatre Studies (Directing), and then in Cinema through the Film and Television Department. During her time as a student, she won a 3-year scholarship from the America-Israel Cultural Foundation for her studies in Cinema.

Before her work as a film director, Shalom-Ezer worked as a theatre director's assistant and as a casting director's assistant. She also spent time working as a production manager and as producer for fringe theatre productions and for theatre festivals. Shalom-Ezer has been a judge of the Official Competition at the Jerusalem Film Festival, for the International Student Film Festival, Tel Aviv, and has worked as a lector for several of the major Israeli film festivals and Israeli film funds. Shalom-Ezer currently teaches in the Film and Television Department at Tel Aviv University focusing on working with actors. She lives with her partner Libby Tishler in Tel Aviv.