Roberta O. Hodes
Air Force
USA
Biography
Roberta O. Hodes (1927–2021) — filmmaker for the nascent IDF.
Upon graduation from Vassar College, Roberta set sail for the newly formed State of Israel. From volunteering on Kibbutz Ein HaShofet, she was recruited by the Haganah, where she helped make IDF informational films — which led her into a long and exciting career in the film industry upon her return to the U.S. She even appeared in Out of Evil, a 1951 Israeli film (available on YouTube) about the transition from the Holocaust to the establishment of Israel.
In 1954, Roberta was perhaps the first to receive film credit as “script supervisor,” serving in that role for director Elia Kazan.
Read the AVILC tribute: A Tribute to Roberta Hodes →
Works
- IDF informational films for the Haganah (1948).
- Script supervisor on Elia Kazan’s On the Waterfront (1954), Baby Doll, and A Face in the Crowd.
- Director of The Game (Venice Film Festival best-documentary award) and A Secret Space (PBS).
- Appeared in the 1951 Israeli film Out of Evil.