Lensing in the Holy Land: Israel Thrives As Prime Production Locale

variety.com:

Malina Saval Associate Editor, FeaturesAcre, Israel is a city of contrasts and multitudes. Perched on the country’s northern coast, skimming the teal blue Mediterranean, the ancient port town is a convergence of Muslim, Jewish, Christian and Druze cultures stretching back millennia.

On this late June eve, the sun sinks behind Acre’s Old City walls, a network of medieval mosques, citadels and baths. A fisherman planted knee-deep in the sea casts his rod while the sounds of the muezzin echo throughout the city’s pale stone alleyways.

Nearby, a Jewish man sips orange juice at a cafe table. A location site for films ranging from Otto Preminger’s “Exodus” to the Sally Field-starrer “Not Without My Daughter,” Acre exudes cinematic flair.

But it’s the salmon sashimi with wasabi sorbet at Uri Buri that lured Phil Rosenthal to Acre in 2018. The Emmy-winning creator of “Everybody Loves Raymond” visited the city’s famed restaurant, operating since 1989, for the premiere episode of his Netflix documentary series “Somebody Feed Phil.” The eatery’s fabled proprietor and chef, Uri Jeremias, who goes by the moniker Uri Buri, isn’t “one to talk about celebrities.” But Jeremias, who also owns the Efendi, a luxury boutique hotel a two-minute walk from Uri Buri, zealously philosophizes on spices, seafood—“There is no bad fish,” he says, “only bad cooks”— and why Acre, and the entirety of Israel, is ever-expanding as a plum location site for a bevy of tv and film productions, including “Fauda” and “Shtisel,” that have made an impact stateside.German director Maria Shrader shot her 2007 film “Love Life” at the Efendi, a 12-room hotel comprising two restored Ottoman palaces and a Byzantine, Mamluk and Crusader-era basement, since converted.