George Ovadiah

George Ovadiah was a filmmaker and actor from Baghdad, Iraq, born in c. 1925. He started his career in the Iranian film industry, where he directed and acted in 25 films. He immigrated to Israel in 1969 and became one of the leading figures of the Bourekas film genre, which was popular in the 1970s and 1980s. He directed, produced and wrote scripts for 13 Israeli films, mostly comedies and melodramas, featuring stars like Uri Zohar, Yehuda Barkan, Ze'ev Revach and Shaike Ophir. Some of his notable films include "Harbor of Love", "The Flying Matchmaker", "Charlie Ve'hetzi" and "Call Me Shmil". He also appeared in some of his films as an actor, often playing a comic role. He retired from filmmaking in the late 1980s and died in 1996 at the age of 71. He was honored by the Israeli Film Academy in 1996 for his contribution to the Israeli cinema.