Hanan Harchol

Hanan Harchol is a New York-based filmmaker, animator, artist, classical guitarist, and teacher. Harchol was born in Kibbutz Kinneret, Israel, and moved to the US at the age of two. Harchol recently released his first dramatic feature film, entitled ABOUT A TEACHER, a semi-autobiographical narrative, which he wrote, directed, and produced, based on his experience teaching filmmaking to inner-city public high school students. Garnering a 100% Fresh rating on Rotten Tomatoes, critics, including the LA Times and The Hollywood Reporter, are raving. The film is currently available on Amazon Prime in the US & UK. In 2023, Harchol was awarded the Big Apple Award, the highest recognition given to New York City’s best public school teachers, and in 2021 Harchol was awarded a $10,000 FLAG Award for Teaching Excellence.

Harchol's animated series Jewish Food For Thought, which is generously funded by The Covenant Foundation, teaches Jewish ethics through thought-provoking animated conversations between Harchol and his Israeli parents, and is used as an educational resource by countless schools and synagogues across the country, and was featured on websites ranging from NPR's OnBeing.org, to URJ.org, and Aish.com, and is broadcast on Jewish Life TV and Shalom TV. Harchol has also been invited to present his work at Jewish educational conferences across the country and in the UK. Harchol's animations have been broadcast on Channel 13, and at over 100 film festivals nationwide.

Harchol's animations, drawings, and paintings were the subject of a solo, cataloged museum exhibition at The Hebrew Union College Museum in New York, which subsequently traveled around the country. In addition to his visual artwork, Harchol is a professional classical guitarist, who has broadcast solo recitals on WQXR, New York, and has recorded eleven best-selling CDs.

Harchol lives in Manhattan with his wife and two sons.