Israel's Sam Spiegel named one of world's best film schools

The Sam Spiegel Film & Television School has been named one of the world's top 15 film schools by the Hollywood Reporter magazine.

The industry magazine publishes an annual list of the top film schools in the U.S., and another list of the leading film schools in the world. The No. 1 spot in the U.S. film school ranking went to the University of Southern California in Los Angeles.

In its description of Sam Spiegel, the Hollywood Reporter mentioned that its honorary fellows include directors David Lynch and Wim Wenders. The institution was founded in 1989 under the directorship of Renen Schorr, and since 1996 has been called the Sam Spiegel School of Film and Television, after the legendary three-time Oscar winner who produced "On the Waterfront," "The Bridge on the River Kwai," and "Lawrence of Arabia."

Notable Sam Spiegel graduates who have made their mark in international film circles include Rama Burshtein ("Fill the Void," "The Wedding Plan,") Tamar Kay ("The Mute's House"), Yaelle Kayam ("Mountain"), and Mihal Brezis and Oded Binnun, who directed "Aya," which was nominated for an Oscar for best short film in 2015.

The Sam Spiegel International Film Lab also helped develop the script for the Hungarian film "Son of Saul" by Laszlo Nemes , which won an Oscar in 2016 for best foreign film.