Biography
In 1999, Igal Hecht created Chutzpa Productions Inc. His award winning films have been described as controversial and thought provoking. His films have dealt with human rights issues to pop culture. Throughout his twenty-year career, Igal Hecht has been involved in the production of over fifty documentary films and over twenty television series. Igals films and television series have been screened nationally and internationally on Netflix, Prime, BBC, Documentary Channel, CBC, YES-TV (Canada), HBO Europe and many others.
Igal's work includes editing and producing "The Story of Furious Pete" which had its sold out world premiere at the 2010 Hot Docs Film Festival. He produced and directed "The Hilltops" which premiered at the 2011 Hot Docs Film Festival. In 2013 he directed and edited the award-winning documentary "A Universal Language," a film that pushed the limits by bringing comedy to the Middle East. Igal's film 'The Sheik,' premiered in 2014 at Hot Docs. Igal has also served as a director of photography for numerous award-winning films.
Igal's show Muzika ran from 2011 to 2015 and aired nationally in the US and Canada. There were a total of 104 episodes. In 2014-2015 Igal co-produced "A Woman's Story", shot in Canada, Poland, Bangladesh, and Rwanda, The film directed and produced by Azra Rashid, has aired on numerous channels and has received awards and critical acclaim around the world. He also edited the acclaimed film "The Pass System," by Alex Williams.
In 2016, Daughters of Eve, a six part docs-series that Igal created and produced had it's world premiere on Yes-TV Canada and has showcased internationally and on the streaming service pure Flix. Also in 2016, Igal released the award winning film My Home, which won him best director award at the Global Cinema Film Festival and best film at the Mosiac and Cinview international film festivals. The film had its world broadcast premiere on the Documentary Channel in Canada and on Israel's premiere documentary show on Channel 1. The film has also been broadcasted across the Middle East BBC Arabic.
Between 2017 and 2020 Igal produced and directed three television series for a total of over 117 episodes. They include a 52 part documentary series called House of God, which was filmed in 9 countries including Canada, Israel, Colombia, Argentina and others. The show airs nationally in Canada on YES-TV. Hecht also produced and directed a 13 part series called Buskers, about street performers around the world. Holy Art, which explored the art scene in Israel, aired for four seasons with a total of 52 episodes. In 2021, Hecht's award winning documentary film 'Forgotten on Sinjar,' which explores the Yazidi genocide, aired on CBC's documentary channel.
In 2021, Hecht released his ten part series titled 'The Wilderness.' The series has been showcased in Canada, the US, Australia and the United Kingdom. Hecht's new series, 'Path To Creation,' about artists across Canada, was picked up for seven seasons for a total of 169 episodes. Seasons 1-4 are currently airing across Canada on YESTV, with the rest of the seasons in production and post production. They are set to air in the next two years. Hecht's new film, 'The Jewish Shadow,' which explores the lives of soviet Jews in 1970's Ukraine, is set to come out in the fall of 2023.
Season one of Hecht's new series "Secrets of the land," which explores the world of science and archaeology will begin airing in Canada in April of 2023. Season two has been picked up and is currently in production. It is set to air in 2024. Hecht's news series, 'In Those Days,' a six part documentary series about the history of the arc of the covenant is set to come out in the fall of 2024. Hecht is also the director, editor and producer of the feature film "Quest for the Throne of God," starring Kevin Sorbo. The film is currently in post production and is set to come out in the fall of 2023. Hecht continues to collaborate with filmmakers around the world on a variety of exciting new projects.
