Paramount’s Tel Aviv-Based Ananey Ramps Up Onscreen Diversity with Israel’s First Transgender Acting School (EXCLUSIVE)
Elsa Keslassy International Correspondent Executives at Paramount-owned, Tel Aviv-based Ananey Studios were stunned when they realized that they couldn’t find a single transgender actor to audition for “The Malevolent Bride,” a series they produced with A+E Studios.
Within a year, this sudden awareness pushed Ananey’s creative director Elad Sonego (pictured) and Paramount to set up Israel’s first transgender acting school in partnership with Nissan Nativ Acting Studio and Jason Danino Holt, a director and playwright.
Since launching in 2022, the school has graduated six actors, including Malki who plays the leading role in “The Malevolent Bride” which was ordered by Kan 11, the public broadcaster.
Set in present-day Jerusalem, the series unfolds in a Hasidic community that’s haunted by vengeful spirit and examines the complexities of traditional gender roles in orthodox communities. “The creator of the show, Noah Stollman (‘Our Boys,’ ‘Fauda’), one of the most brilliant creative minds in Israel, had written this amazing character which happens to be a transgender woman but we came to realize that we couldn’t find a professional actors from the transgender community, and it’s really hard to get them to come to auditions,” said Sonego.
