Daniella Carmi

Daniella Carmi
Name	Daniella Carmi
Occupation	Actress, Writer

Daniella Carmi is an Israeli-born actress and writer known for her work in theater, film, television, and children's literature. She has performed with leading companies and appeared in internationally distributed productions, while also publishing novels and books that engage with contemporary Israeli culture. Carmi's multidisciplinary career intersects with prominent institutions, festivals, and cultural figures across Israel and beyond.

Early life and education

Carmi was born and raised in Tel Aviv to a family involved in the local arts scene, and she attended schools that emphasized dramatic arts and literature. She trained at the Beit Zvi School for the Performing Arts and completed further studies at the Jerusalem Academy of Music and Dance and the HB Studio program in New York City. During her formative years she studied under teachers affiliated with the Habima Theatre, the Cameri Theatre, and visiting artists from the Royal Shakespeare Company and the Actors Studio. Her education included workshops and masterclasses associated with festivals such as the Edinburgh Festival Fringe and institutions like the Guthrie Theater and the National Theatre.

Acting career

Carmi's professional debut came on the stage of the Habima Theatre, where she performed in productions alongside directors linked to the Israel Festival and the Suzanne Dellal Centre. She went on to appear at the Cameri Theatre and in fringe venues connected to the Haifa International Film Festival and the Acco Festival of Alternative Israeli Theatre. Her theatrical repertoire includes roles in works by playwrights such as Hanoch Levin, Arthur Miller, Eugene O'Neill, William Shakespeare, and Ariel Dorfman, often under directors who have worked with the Gordon Square Theatre and the Young Vic.

On television, Carmi has acted in series aired on networks such as Keshet, Reshet, and Hot, and she has appeared in productions that screened at the Cannes Film Festival, the Berlin International Film Festival, and the Venice Film Festival. Her film credits include collaborations with directors associated with the Israeli Academy Awards and co-productions involving companies from France, Germany, and the United States. She has worked with cinematographers and composers who have credits on projects for BBC, HBO, and Netflix, and shared casts with performers who have appeared in Fauda, Shtisel, and international series such as Homeland and Faust.

Carmi has also directed stage pieces and developed original scripts at institutions including the Suzanne Dellal Centre and the Israel Museum, participating in residencies connected to the Mizrahi Artists Residency and exchange programs with the National Theatre School of Canada.

Writing and literary work

Parallel to her acting, Carmi authored fiction and non-fiction aimed at adults and children, publishing with Israeli houses linked to distributors in Hebrew University Press networks and international publishers in London, New York City, and Berlin. Her novels and short stories have been discussed in outlets that cover literature such as the Jerusalem Post, the Haaretz literary supplement, and reviews in journals tied to the Tel Aviv University Faculty of Humanities. She has been a contributor to anthologies alongside writers represented by the S. Fischer Verlag, the Grove Atlantic list, and the Éditions Gallimard catalogue.

Her children's books were produced in collaboration with illustrators who have shown work at the Israel Museum, the Tel Aviv Museum of Art, and galleries participating in the Biennale of Illustration Bratislava. Carmi's essays and op-eds on culture and performance have appeared in magazines affiliated with the Bezalel Academy of Arts and Design and have been translated for publication in outlets connected to the Times Literary Supplement and the New Statesman.

She has taught creative writing and dramaturgy in programs run by the Camera Obscura School of Art, the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, and workshops at the Sundance Institute and the FIAT/IFTA conferences.

Awards and recognition

Carmi's stage performances and literary works have earned nominations and awards from bodies such as the Israel Theater Prize and the Sapir Prize jury panels, and she has been shortlisted for prizes administered by the Ministry of Culture and Sport (Israel) and the Jerusalem Municipality cultural awards. Her films have received festival honors at the Haifa International Film Festival and recognition from juries at the Cannes Directors' Fortnight and the Berlin Panorama section. Literary recognition includes grants from the Rabbi Mordecai Kaplan Foundation and fellowships awarded by institutions connected to the Van Leer Jerusalem Institute and the Brooklyn Arts Council.

Carmi has been invited to residencies and retrospectives at venues such as the JICC (Jerusalem International Convention Center) cultural programs, the Palestine Festival of Literature (visibility collaborations notwithstanding regional complexities), and panels at the Munich Literature Festival.

Personal life and advocacy

Carmi lives between Tel Aviv and Jerusalem and has engaged in advocacy on cultural access and artists' rights, participating in campaigns involving organizations such as ACUM, the Israeli Actors' Association, and the Association of Israeli Authors and Writers. She has spoken at conferences organized by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization and participated in benefit performances for NGOs aligned with the Red Cross and the Doctors Without Borders network. Carmi has also taken part in cross-cultural projects with institutions like the European Union cultural programs and exchange initiatives sponsored by the British Council and the Goethe-Institut.

Category:Israeli actresses Category:Israeli writers