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 Mostra, only 21 will be competing for the Golden Lion top prize. Most of the films at Venice will be world premieres, including the "things that go boom" psychological thriller directed by Kathryn Bigelow, "The Hurt Locker". The film deals with the physical and emotional strains faced by EOD bomb squads in Iraq. Also premiering at the festival is home-grown favorite "Birdwatcher" directed by Italy's own Marco Bechis. Other strong contenders for the coveted Golden Lion award are the Darren Aronofsky directed film, "The Wrestler", and director Barbet Schroeder's entry, "L'Inju: la Bete dans l'Ombre". With no British pictures and