Amir Bogen is a New York-based film journalist and critic, scholar, and festival executive. He is the senior film and TV writer of Ynet, and critic. Amir is a Golden Globes voter.
Additionally, Amir serves as the artistic director of the Lighthouse Int’l Film Festival (NJ) and a programmer at the Woodstock Film Festival.
Amir has Ph.D. in film theory, he specializes in the philosophical and political dimensions of Hollywood sci-fi blockbusters. He has taught film courses at Wesleyan University.
How many years have you been a judge?
This is my first year!
What excited you about judging for the Telly Awards?
Very curious and excited about the process and outcome.
What was your first job in the industry? What did it teach you?
Film journalist and critic. It taught me to experience audio-visual work as a whole, rather than dissecting it to separate elements.
What project are you most proud to have worked on?
Leading the Lighthouse International Film Festival and taking it to new heights.
What’s the most challenging part about your job and/or the industry?
Like in every industry, the biggest challenge is how to make the ideas in your own creative head a reality that involves collaboration of other people (creative, production, financiers) and a variety of audience members
What do you look for to determine excellence in video?
Stunning visuals and compelling, original stories – and most importantly, a perfect balance between these two aspects.
What are your current roles and responsibilities and what do you love most about your job?
I’m the artistic director of the Lighthouse International Film Festival in Long Beach Island, New Jersey. I’m also the feature programmer of the the Woodstock Film Festival (NY). Creatively, I’m a passionate about writing – weather scripts that I’m developing, or as a journalist, working as the film and TV writer of Ynet
What initiatives or projects are you working on now that excite you?
My scripts.
Do you have any specific practices you lean on to spark creativity?
Just original thought, attraction to the controversial, and subversive subtext as a mean of expression.
What inspired you to pursue your career path?
Writing
In your experience, what is a significant change you are seeing happen in the video, television, and/or film industry, and what insight can you share about how to navigate it?
Obviously AI is taking over saving time and money on the expense of diminishing originality and brilliance. Even when AI is based on man’s created prompts, it is very limited and require a set rigid structure of storytelling.
