Jay Koller

Jay Koller is the director of Marathon Pictures and a well known personality in the Israeli film industry, with great know-how and experience in feature film packaging, marketing and distribution of quality films. Mr. Koller purchased the exclusive cinematographic rights to the Nobel Prize Winner Isaac Bashevis Singer's The Slave from Farrar, Straus and Giroux, the New York Based Publishers. Mr. Koller's family is established owners-operators of a large hotel chain in Israel and Greece. He started his theater/film career as a child prodigy in children theater and appeared as an actor in over forty films, as well as on the stage. He is also an accomplished academic lecturer on film history and film-making and a highly respected film critic. For more than twelve years, Mr. Koller has worked in public relations and promotions for Golan-Globus, Cannon Productions, and the Hollywood producer Arnon Milchen. He frequently participates international film festivals, including Cannes, Berlin, San Sebastian and Venice, as promotion director and sales agent for feature films. In recent years, he has engaged in packaging and financing of feature films, both domestic and international, in particular, in association with two leading Israeli film production companies: Metro Communications Ltd., headed by The producer-David Silber, and Pennylane Production Ltd., and its president, director - producer Doron Eran. Mr. Koller is also an associate of Moshe Edery, President of the leading Israeli distribution and production company, United King Films Ltd., and owner operator of Cinema City (a large chain of movie theaters). Mr. Koller has been the moving force behind the scenes, in the financing and packaging of most of the films produced by the above-named companies. As owner and director of Marathon Pictures, Mr.Koller is considered one of the most successful distributors of quality international and local films, including films by such world re-known directors, such as Rainer Werner Fassbinder, Krzysztof Zanussi and Emir Kusturice. Jay Koller brought the Oscar-winning film "Mephisto", directed by Istvan Szabo to Israel. He arranged for the participation at the Israeli opening of the film, of the star of the movie, Klaus Maria Brandauer. Needless to say, his efforts were a major contribution to the huge success of the movie in Israel. He also arranged distribution in Israel of "Love in Germany" directed by Andrzey Wajda and brought Hanna Schygula, the star of the film, to the Israeli premiere. Mr. Koller owns the worldwide rights to a highly successful film- "Ricochets", directed by Eli Cohen. This anti-war movie (Lebanon) which was featured at the Cannes Film Festival and by some 900,000 spectators, a record for a feature films in Israel.