Filmmaker Richard Trank Makes Aliyah After Chronicling Jewish History

Oscar-winning filmmaker Richard Trank, known for documentaries like The Long Way Home, recently made aliyah to Israel in 2025 after a decades-long career documenting Jewish history from Los Angeles. Trank’s work with the Simon Wiesenthal Center included films on the Holocaust, the founding of Israel, and key figures like Theodor Herzl and Shimon Peres.

His family history, parents who fled Europe and South Africa during the rise of Nazism, fueled his lifelong dedication to Jewish storytelling and preserving memory. After completing a film about Shimon Peres, Trank and his partner realized a long-held dream of living in Israel, spurred by his retirement from the Wiesenthal Center and his children becoming independent.

He has since established Sea Point Films and Media and is developing several new projects. Currently, Trank is producing Always 28, a documentary about a WWII American GI finally buried with Jewish honors, and a drama series, Benmayor, detailing the experiences of Greek Jews during the Holocaust. He sees his work as a continuation of Herzl’s vision, making the Jewish story known and appreciated worldwide.