Amos Gitai is a filmmaker who began his career after studying architecture, turning to filmmaking after his helicopter was shot down during the Yom Kippur war. His first feature-length documentary, "House", was commissioned by Israel's public television in 1979 but rejected, and his third documentary, "Field Diary", was also rejected before he completed it in France. In 1986, he directed his first feature fictional film, "Esther".