Discover the best of Israeli cinema, film, and television

Discover the definitive list of popular and critically-acclaimed movies and TV shows from Israel. Find your next binge-watch, streaming on Netflix, HBO, Hulu, Prime Video, and other top services!

The cinema of Israel

Israeli screen culture has become a global powerhouse, celebrated for its smart, gripping stories that are as intelligent as they are intense. Its cinema first gained major international acclaim in the 2000s, with a new generation of filmmakers earning Oscar nominations and top festival prizes. The world truly took notice with Ari Folman’s animated masterpiece Waltz with Bashir, a stunning documentary that reinvented what film could do, and Samuel Maoz's Lebanon, which won the Golden Lion at Venice. These films established a reputation for brave, personal filmmaking that grappled with the country’s complex reality. But its biggest global impact might be on television, where it has become a true format superpower. The smash-hit series Homeland was, in fact, an adaptation of the brilliant Israeli drama Hatufim (Prisoners of War). This kicked off a golden age of television exports. The nail-biting thriller Fauda became an international sensation, while the gentle, profoundly human drama Shtisel, set in the ultra-Orthodox community, quietly conquered the world with its heart. What makes Israeli storytelling so compelling is its unflinching honesty. It’s a cinema that explores the psychological pressures of conflict, family, and faith with incredible depth. It's a place where high-octane action and quiet human drama thrive side-by-side, always with a sharp, intelligent edge.

Best Israeli series

  • Poster for Fauda

    Fauda 2015

    A top Israeli agent comes out of retirement to hunt for a Palestinian militant he thought he'd killed, setting a chaotic chain of events into motion.

    yes
    80
  • Poster for Tehran

    Tehran 2020

    Tamar is a Mossad hacker-agent who infiltrates Tehran under a false identity to help destroy Iran's nuclear reactor. But when her mission fails, Tamar must plan an operation that will place everyone dear to her in jeopardy.

    Kan 11
    75
  • Poster for Shtisel

    Shtisel 2013

    Akiva and Shulem Shtisel, father and son, sit on a little balcony overlooking streets of the Geula neighborhood of Jerusalem. A year has passed since the mother died. All the other children have left the nest, and only Shulam and Akiva remain - quarreling, making up, and laughing about themselves and the rest of the world. All will change when Akiva meets Elisheva.

    yes
    79
  • Poster for Valley of Tears

    Valley of Tears 2020

    On October 6th 1973, the Middle East was shaken by the biggest war it had ever seen. A war that should have been the last one, and that forever changed the region.

    Kan 11
    73
  • Poster for Losing Alice

    Losing Alice 2020

    Alice is a middle-aged film director who feels lost since raising her family. But a chance meeting with Sophie, a femme-fatale screenwriter, takes Alice on an obsessive journey toward success at any cost.

    HOT3
    66
  • Poster for When Heroes Fly

    When Heroes Fly 2018

    Eleven years after falling out, four friends, war veterans of a Special Forces unit, reunite for one final mission: to find Yaeli, a former lover of one of them and sister of another. Their journey will take them deep into the Colombian jungle but, as to succeed, first they must confront the trauma that tore them apart.

    Keshet 12
    72

Best Israeli movies

  • Poster for Waltz with Bashir

    Waltz with Bashir 2008

    An Israeli film director interviews fellow veterans of the 1982 invasion of Lebanon to reconstruct his own memories of his term of service in that conflict.

    77
  • Poster for Jeruzalem

    Jeruzalem 2016

    When a couple of American young adults fly to Israel to visit the city of Jerusalem, a biblical nightmare falls upon the city.

    53
  • Poster for Big Bad Wolves

    Big Bad Wolves 2013

    Tel Aviv, Israel. The twisted paths of three very different men brutally collide due to a chain of unspeakable murders: a grieving father who has been doomed to seek vengeance and a police detective who boldly crosses the narrow boundary between law and crime meet a religion teacher suspected of being the murderer.

    68
  • Poster for The Fury

    The Fury 1978

    When a devious plot separates CIA agent Peter Sandza from his son, Robin, the distraught father manages to see through the ruse. Taken because of his psychic abilities, Robin is being held by Ben Childress, who is studying people with supernatural powers in hopes of developing their talents as weapons. Soon Peter pairs up with Gillian, a teen who has telekinesis, to find and rescue Robin.

    64
  • Poster for The Engineer

    The Engineer 2023

    As Israel is rocked by a series of terrorist bombings, a US senator's daughter is killed in one bloody explosion. Now, ex-Mossad agent Etan must lead an elite, covert team of agents and mercenaries to find the man responsible—the elusive “Engineer.” Can they find and destroy the madman before more innocent lives are lost?

    60
  • Poster for Out in the Dark

    Out in the Dark 2012

    Two young men — a Palestinian grad student and an Israeli lawyer — meet and fall in love amidst personal and political intrigue.

    76