Tami Berenstein

Tami Berenstein is an award-winning international animation and documentary director, concept artist, animator and illustrator.

She started working in Telad’s promo department while still a student in the academy, after winning a promo competition in her first year. Since her graduation, she specialized in various aspects of her field, such as developing TV channels, conceptual branding, developing and directing animation series, computer games, and children’s books.

Berenstein created TV series that aired on 85 channels around the world and have millions of online views, including “Cuddlies,” for which she was also nominated for the Chicago International Children's Film Festival and won an ASIF award for Israeli animation.

Her own non-commercial work has been featured in festivals all over the world, and includes the indie film “Drawing of the Inevitable,” created in collaboration with cellist Maya Belsitzman. In 2018 she created the animation project at the Israel Opera with the Revolution Orchestra.

In 2016 she founded and curated the international animation festival AniNation – Jerusalem, which attracts some 7,000 viewers every year. The successful festival is held at the Jerusalem Cinematheque and throughout Jerusalem, with an emphasis on adult animation and artist workshops, VR and animation installations, including at the YMCA Sports Center.

Berenstein has served as the chief animation elector and senior advisor for the Gesher Multicultural Film Fund as well as HaPais Council for the Culture and Arts. She established The Scene incubator of the Project for Cinema and Television in Jerusalem and was nominated for an Ophir award for a documentary script. She was the first women named “Animix Festival Notable,” the highest award in the field of animation in Israel. She is the mother of Carmi and the life-partner of Shirley.