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Shimon Dotan was born in Romania in 1949 and immigrated to Israel in 1959. Raised in an agricultural cooperative, he served five years as a Navy SEAL in the Israeli military before earning his BFA from Tel Aviv University, where his student films won Israel's Best Short Film and Best Director Awards twice.
Dotan has received numerous accolades, including the Special Jury Prize for Best World Documentary Feature at the Sundance Film Festival (Hot House), the Silver Bear Award at the Berlin Film Festival (Smile of the Lamb, best actor), the Best Film Award at the Newport Beach Film Festival (You Can Thank Me Later), and two Israeli Academy Awards for Best Film and Best Director (Repeat Dive, Smile of the Lamb), among others.
His feature films have garnered both critical praise and commercial success. His debut as writer, director, and producer, Repeat Dive (1982), which depicted his experiences in Israel's elite Navy Commando unit, won three Israeli Academy Awards, including Best Picture and Best Director, and was an official selection at the Berlin and Chicago Film Festivals. He then created two quasi-documentaries, Souvenirs from Tel Aviv and Souvenirs from Hebron (1982). The Smile of the Lamb (1986), written, directed, and co-produced with Yonatan Aroch, earned multiple awards including the Silver Bear at Berlin and six Israeli Academy Awards, including Best Director and Best Picture. In 1991, Dotan wrote and directed The Finest Hour featuring Rob Lowe, Tracy Griffith, and Gale Hansen.
After relocating to Montreal, Canada in 1991, Dotan co-founded Cinequest Films Inc. with partner Netaya Anbar. In 1994, he directed and produced Warriors, starring Macha Grenon, Gary Busey, and Michael Pare. In 1996, he directed and produced Coyote Run, featuring Peter Greene, Macha Grenon, and Michael Pare. The critically acclaimed You Can Thank Me Later (1999), produced with Anbar and directed by Dotan, starred Ellen Burstyn, Geneviève Bujold, Amanda Plummer, and Mary McDonnell. It won Best Film at the Newport Beach Film Festival, was selected for the closing night of the Palm Springs Film Festival, and opened the Montreal Film Festival gala. Between 1999 and 2000, Dotan produced The List (1999) with Ryan O’Neal, Rock LaForte, and Ben Gazzara; Cause of Death (2000) with Maxim Roy, Patrick Bergin, and Michael Ironside; and Wilder (2000) with Pam Grier, Romano Orzari, and Rutger Hauer. In 2001, he produced Hidden Agenda starring Dolph Lundgren and Maxim Roy. He wrote the script for Watching TV With The Red Chinese in 2003 and Frenzy, based on a novel by David Grossman, in 2005. In 2006, Dotan wrote, directed, and co-produced the documentary feature Hot House, which received the Special Jury Award for Best World Documentary at Sundance. In 2007, he produced the Canadian-Chinese co-production Diamond Dogs.
