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Yosef Joseph Dadoune, Israeli, born in France, 1975.

Yosef Joseph Dadoune was born in Nice, France. In 1980, he immigrated to Israel with his mother and settled in Ofakim. He studied at a Haredi school affiliated with the Satmar Hasidim in Moshav Tifrah as well as yeshivas in Jerusalem and Bnei Brak. In the 1990s, while studying at yeshiva, he began to draw without previous art instruction, creating graphic representations of Jewish motifs.

In the 2000s, Dadoune moved on to photography and video. His films incorporate symbols from different cultures and use drama and artistic pathos to explore aspects of gender and identity. Among his best known works is Sion (2002-2007), a film that explores the relations between East and West in which Israeli actress Ronit Elkabetz allegorically portrays the city of Jerusalem.

Dadoune’s film trilogy “Bamidbar: In the Desert” (2009), “Phoenix” (2010) and “Ofakim” (2010) is the core of an artistic-social project he organized in his hometown, Ofakim.

Awards And Prizes

1995 Prize, Group Exhibition, Nice, France
2001 Alliance Prize, Paris, Fance
2004 European Union Prize for Jewish Culture, Paris, France
2008 Artist Prize, Film Festival, Sderot
2008 Prize for a Young Artist, Ministry of Science, Culture and Sport
2017 Chevalier des Arts et Lettres, France
2018 Bernheim Prize for Art, Fondation Renée et Léonce Bernheim, France