“The Vermeers”, 2011 Student Academy Award winner, suggests a contemporary engagement with Jan Vermeer’s paintings (1632-1675) via a digital platform. It is an attempt to merge content of the art-film with the structure of the film-trailer. The desire is to contemplate on Vermeer’s paintings from a different and unexpected POV – loyal to the source but true to the technological evolution.
Tal S. Shamir has directed, produced, written, and edited dozens of short films that have been presented at a wide range of film festivals, galleries, and museums; he has won many awards, including a Gold Medal in the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences’ 2011 Student Oscars, for his film The Vermeers.
While serving in the Israeli navy for six years, Tal created and commanded the Special-Ops Video Team, demonstrating the possibility of analyzing the navy’s special forces training through video.
As part of his MA in film studies, Tal also created and produced the RUFF CUTS and FINE CUTS film showcases, which allowed film students to share, discuss, and improve their films. This platform has become the central ongoing film-screening event of The New School’s media studies department.
Tal holds a PhD in philosophy, film, and media from the European Graduate School, and his first book on cinema, titled Cinematic Philosophy, published by Palgrave Macmillan/Springer, came out in 2016 to rave reviews.
