Boaz Dvir

Assistant professor Boaz Dvir teaches writing and production in the Department of Journalism.

Award-winning filmmaker, Dvir tells the stories of ordinary people who, under extraordinary circumstances, transform into trailblazers who change the world around them. They include an average inner-city schoolteacher who emerges as a disruptive innovator and a national model (Discovering Gloria); a World War II flight engineer who transforms into the leader of a secret operation to prevent a second Holocaust (A Wing and a Prayer); an uneducated truck driver who becomes a highly effective child-protection activist (Jessie’s Dad); and a French banker who sets out to kill former Nazi officer Klaus Barbie and ends up playing a pivotal role in history’s most daring hostage-rescue operation (Cojot).

Dvir teamed up with Retro Report to produce a documentary short, “How Special Ops Became Central to the War On Terror,” for The New York Times. His most recent release, the child-poverty short, “El País de la Eterna Primavera (Land of the Eternal Spring),” has started its festival run at International Film Festival Manhattan. His films have been distributed by PBS, Hulu, Netflix, Amazon and other outlets. Lifetime and Investigation Discovery have incorporated footage from his documentaries into their programs.

Dvir’s documentaries have received coverage by such media as the Huffington Post, The Guardian, Haaretz, MSNBC, the New York Post, The Miami Herald, Stars and Stripes, the Los Angeles Jewish Journal, the Jewish Telegraphic Agency and Florida magazine. His films have won several prestigious awards. For instance, A Wing and a Prayer was named Best Documentary at the 2016 Fort Lauderdale International Film Festival.

Working with Pennsylvania’s Department of Education, and organizations such as the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum and the University of Southern California Shoah Foundation, and his Penn State colleagues, Dvir is leading the creation of an innovative Penn State teacher-development initiative expected to revolutionize the instruction of difficult, vital subjects to children and adolescents.

Dvir wrote a syllabus on multimedia journalism ethics for Harvard University’s Kennedy School. He has also taught journalism and documentary filmmaking at the University of Florida. He has written for many publications, including New York’s Newsday, the Philadelphia Inquirer, the South Florida Sun-Sentinel, The Miami Herald, the Tampa Bay Times, the Las Vegas Sun, the Jerusalem Post, The Satirist, Scripps Howard’s Treasure Coast Newspapers, the Times of Israel and Explore magazine.

Dvir served as editor of the Jacksonville Business Journal and managing editor of the South Florida Business Journal, which are part of the Newhouse-owned American City Business Journals. He appeared on “Week in Review” and wrote commentaries for WJCT, Jacksonville’s NPR/PBS station.

Dvir created a documentary short about PALS, which helped the nonprofit that aids troubled teens receive an official nomination for a Nobel Peace Prize and raise hundreds of thousands of dollars in grants. Dvir received a Lilly Endowment grant from the Religion News Service to research spiritual aspects of the Holocaust.

• VIDEO: How Special Ops Became Central to the War on Terror
• VIDEO: Jessie's Dad
• VIDEO: A Wing and a Prayer

• New documentary portrait of trailblazing Florida teacher
• Penn State professor’s documentary ‘Class of Her Own’ chronicles teacher’s trailblazing work
• Freestyle Digital Media acquires ‘Class of Her Own’ doc
• 'America's greatest gift to Israel'
• Penn State researching ways to teach tough topics to K-12 students
• Faculty member's documentary about innovative teacher gets national distribution
• Innovative approaches for addressing difficult topics in K-12 schools
• How educator Gloria Jean Merriex used dance, drills and devotion to turn around a failing elementary school in a year
• Holocaust Education Initiative to share proof of its strong NEH program impact
• How parents should engage kids in conversation on difficult issues such as the Israel-Hamas War
• How new state laws and book ban movements have made the teaching of US history contentious – 5 essential reads
• Holocaust museum exhibit featuring 11 million stamps unveiled in Bellefonte. What to know
• Alumni brothers hope their gift propels Penn State initiative battling hatred
• From ‘never forget’ to never mind? An Aspenite seeks to address Holocaust education
• Israel’s judicial reform efforts could complicate its relationship with US – but the countries have faced other bumps along the road
• Here are some of the laws being proposed in Harrisburg this session
• A Smarter Approach to the Hardest Topics
• Alumni couple makes $5 million gift to Human Rights Education Initiative
• The Curious Man Podcast: Boaz Dvir Interview
• Biden and Trump agree on strong U.S.-Israel relations — Sanders not so much
• Book Review: 'Saving Israel'
• In the terrorism fight, Trump has continued a key Obama policy
• Professor: Violence in places of worship are attacks on human rights
• Documentary celebrates the heroism and redemption of Michel Cojot
• In the wake of Tree of Life, education must be a priority
• Tree of Life first anniversary: How to teach tough topics to our kids
• Professor's award-winning films strive for a deeper impact
• Teaching teachers about the Holocaust
• Documentary 'Quiet Sundays' named best student film at festival
• Faculty member's documentary selected for festivals in Italy and Australia
• LA's Museum of Tolerance to screen professor's post-Holocaust film
• For a while, he was chasing the wrong story. Then Penn State professor Boaz Dvir came across Cojot.
• There’s one hero of Entebbe who deserves his own film. I remember him well
• Professor and filmmaker discovers transformative teacher
• Filmmaker returns to Baltimore to preview documentary
• Upcoming film tells unbelievable story of France’s Michel Cojot
• Documentarian finds new focus in old story
• Preview screenings set for faculty member's film about daring Holocaust survivor
• Commentary: Could Trump broker an Israeli-Palestinian deal?
• International festival to screen professor’s documentary
• Discovering Gloria Jean Merriex
• PODCAST: Putting Nazi weapons in Jewish hands
• Terrorism, then and now
• Documentary tells triumph of American pilots in Israel’s war for independence
• A second Holocaust?
• Rethinking the notion of a second Holocaust
• Free screening of faculty member's documentary offers audience input
• Documentary set for four East Coast screenings
• Faculty members' documentary selected for screening in NYC
• Professors produce documentary about unsung hero Michel Cojot
• Professor produces documentary, unveils WWII secret operation
• Seven lessons from the Greatest Generation
• World War II veterans offer pearls of wisdom
• Why we should cheer some operatives for Israel, but not Jonathan Pollard
• Time to freak out about the June 11 Florida premiere?
• Screenings of instructor's film set in New York City, Philadelphia
• How Miami played a role in Israel's war for independence
• Instructor's film tells forgotten story of American aviators who helped Israel
• Award-winning film, part of campaign for child protection, available for free
• Penn State lecturer's film depicting father's fight for change now on Hulu
• D.C. museum schedules virtual book talk by Penn State faculty member
• PODCAST: Military History Inside Out — "Saving Israel"
• Penn State Holocaust Education Initiative receives lead gift, matching funds
• Penn State professor, filmmaker pens ‘Saving Israel’ to bring secret WWII operation to light
• How a Penn State professor's grandfather inspired documentary 'A Wing and a Prayer'
• PSU initiative to bring holocaust teaching tools to Pa. educators
• Professor to discuss 'Lessons from History's Most Daring Hostage Rescue'
• Holocaust Education Initiative offers free, trauma-informed teaching seminar