Who We Are
Carole Zabar – Founder
Mrs. Zabar has been an active supporter of Israeli documentary filmmaking over the last decade and is the founder of the Other Israel Film Festival. As part of her support for Israeli cultural, social, and political causes, Mrs. Zabar serves as a board member of JCC Manhattan, New Israel Fund, and the American Friends of Meretz.
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Isaac Zablocki – Executive Director
Isaac Zablocki is the Director of Film Programs at JCC Manhattan and the Director and Co-Founder of ReelAbilities Film Festival: New York – the largest cultural festival of its kind in the world. The festival runs in 25 locations throughout the New York Metro area and in thirteen major cites throughout the country. Isaac is the founder and director of the Israel Film Center, which includes North America’s largest streaming site for Israeli films: IsraelFilmCenterSTREAM.org. He writes for many national publications and lectures on film at esteemed institutions around the world.
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Lauren Moriah Stern – Associate Director
Lauren Moriah Stern is the Associate Director of the Carole Zabar Center for Film at the Marlene Meyerson JCC Manhattan. With a career focused on new work and site-specific performance, Lauren has stage managed and produced 50+ readings/workshops and over 20 world premiere productions at institutions including the Public Theater, Kennedy Center, New York Stage and Film, On Site Opera, BAM Next Wave Festival, Williamstown Theatre Festival, and ArtsBrookfield.
Juliette Klitz – Program Associate
Juliette is born and raised in New York City. She graduated with degrees in Film & Media Studies and Neuroscience from Johns Hopkins University. After a summer internship at MY Entertainment, Juliette has worked as a production sound mixer for many student shorts as well as a production assistant on HBO’s The Shop. She is excited to join the JCC film team as Program Administrator.
Carmel Lotan – Guest Coordinator
After two leading roles in two successful Israeli TV shows in Disney and Nickelodeon, Carmel has decided to broaden her horizons and study acting in New York. Today, she’s a NYC based actress and playwright, who graduated from The American Academy of Dramatic Arts in 2020. She wrote her first play ‘Smartphone Love’ in quarantine. The play got selected into the final list of- “The Downtown Urban Arts Festival” and “The Chain- One Act Festival” in NYC, and later had its world premiere at The Tank theater in September of 2021.
Carmel is very excited to be working at the Other Israel Film Festival, and supports the goals of storytelling and educating communities through film.