Jonathan Dekel

Jonathan is a director/screenwriter, born in Los Angeles, 1983. Jonathan grew up between Israel and LA, eventually leaving America at 18 for voluntary service in the Israeli Special Forces. He cites those two extremes- an immigrant in an LA high-school, then the Israeli military- as the biggest inspirations on his work. Jonathan was honorably discharged as an officer, rank of captain, and went on to graduate from the five-year Director's Program in the Jerusalem Sam Spiegel Film School, winning several awards and scholarships as a student. His mockumentary film April Fool's (2014) was the first film ever to be shot on an iPhone, and won him Israel's Academy Award (the Ophir, 2015), among others. Jonathan wrote and directed internal documentaries and narrative content for the IDF/Prime Minister's Office before venturing into TV and film, with his debut screenplay, Checkout (2020), chosen for development in the Sundance Feature Film Program. Helmed by Josh Pais (Joker, Ray Donovan), Checkout tells the story of Dov, a desperate Mossad spy fighting retirement while tracking down a supposed legendary terrorist. Jonathan currently lives in the bi-national village of Neve Shalom/Wahat-al-Salam and is married to Neta Burd, father to Noam, Ronnie and Daniela.