Samuel Maoz Samuel Maoz Samuel Maoz (Hebrew: שמואל מעוז; born c. 1962) is an Israeli film director. His 2009 film, "Lebanon" won the Golden Lion at the 66th Venice International Film Festival. He also won the award for Best Screenplay for Lebanon at the Asia Pacific Screen Awards in 2010. Shmuel (Shmuel) Maoz was born in Tel Aviv. At the age of 20, he was a gunner in one of the first Israeli tanks to enter Lebanon in the 1982 Lebanon War. After the war, he trained as a cameraman at the Beit Zvi theater school, and did art direction in film
65th Venice International Film Festival Algerian helmer Tariq Teguia is screening "Inland". Asia could win the Golden Lion for best film for the fourth year running. Leading the Japanese line-up is "Akires to kame" (Achilles and the Tortoise) directed by Takeshi Kitano. Kitano is a favored son in Venice, having already won the 1997 Leone d'Oro for "Hana-bi" (Fireworks) and who was awarded a special prize for his direction of "Zatoichi" in 2003. Films being screen out of competition include "35 Rums" by French director Claire Denis, Iranian film-maker Abbas Kiarostami's film, "Shirin" and an autobiographical documentary by Belgium-born director Agnès Varda. The "record" for