Noemi and Katriel Schory’s Belfilms Collaborations Reflect Decades of Storytelling
Over several decades, Noemi Schory and Katriel Schory built an extensive catalogue of documentaries, dramas and historical productions through Belfilms Ltd. and Belbo Films, creating works that explored war, memory, identity, politics, migration and culture.
Their collaborations began in the 1980s with productions such as Transport 222 (1986), a documentary about the wartime rescue of Dutch Jews from Bergen Belsen, followed by Mary Khass: Refugee by Choice (1987), Dreamers / Unsettled Land (1987), and the courtroom documentary The State of Israel vs. John Ivan Demjanjuk (1988).
Throughout the late 1980s and early 1990s, the duo continued producing socially and politically engaged films including Reds vs Whites, The Missing Picture, New Recruits, and the acclaimed documentary Born in Berlin (1990), which followed three Jewish women reflecting on identity and survival after Nazi Germany.
Their work also expanded into environmental and historical television productions with projects such as In Nature’s Grace (1990), 20 Years – Yom Kippur War (1993), Tel Katzir 1993, and The Reconstruction / The Murder of Danny Katz (1993).
Belfilms also produced narrative dramas including A Touch of Magic (1992), Dreams of Innocence (1994), and Purple Lawns (1998), highlighting the company’s ability to move between documentary realism and fiction storytelling.
Among their major documentary productions were A Bridge over Troubled Relations (1995), which examined postwar Israel Germany negotiations, 7 Days in November (1996), documenting the aftermath of Yitzhak Rabin’s assassination, The Debacle (1996), and Haute Cuisine Goes Kosher (1997), an unusual culinary documentary bringing together world renowned chefs and Jewish dietary traditions.
In 1998, the pair contributed to Tkuma, the landmark Israeli historical documentary series marking the 50th anniversary of the State of Israel. Around the same period they also produced The Sons of David, Selma, Wadad, Olga and Sharona / 4 Friends, and As If the War Never Happened, continuing their exploration of politics, religion and collective memory.
Their later collaborations included The Escape / Habriha (1999), Pinkas’ Dream (1999), In Perlov’s Room (1999), Luciano Berio – A Contemporary Maestro (2001), and The Secret (2001), projects that combined personal stories with broader historical and cultural themes.
One of Belfilms’ largest undertakings came between 2004 and 2005 with the production of more than 105 short historical films for the Yad Vashem Historical Museum installation, involving extensive archival research and survivor testimonies.
The collaboration continued in later years with projects such as Block 27 – Auschwitz (2013) and Agnes Keleti – Conquering Time (2022 Israeli version), reflecting the filmmakers’ continuing interest in history, remembrance and human resilience.
Together, Noemi and Katriel Schory created a diverse and influential body of work that remains an important part of Israeli documentary and independent cinema history.
