Biography
Noaz Deshe was born on August 22, 1977. Some sources list Israel as his country of birth, others mention Argentina or Romania. Deshe himself has not confirmed any of these, though he holds Romanian citizenship. Little is known about his formal education. He began working in film in 2001, directing several short films but primarily focusing on cinematography. He was the director of photography for the award-winning Israeli documentary "Area K: A Political Fishing Documentary" (2013) and the acclaimed American-Iranian tragicomedy "Radio Dreams" (2016). In addition to his film work, Deshe has been active as a musician and visual artist.
His feature directorial debut, "White Shadow" (IT/DE/TZ) - a story about a young albino boy hunted by superstitious witch doctors in his native Tanzania - won numerous awards, including the Luigi De Laurentiis Award for Best Debut Feature at the Venice Film Festival. Beyond his artistic pursuits, Deshe has volunteered in sea rescue missions and refugee camps. Drawing on these experiences, he developed his second feature film, "Xoftex" (DE/FR/US, 2021), about Syrian refugees in the Greek Softex camp who begin making a zombie movie. "Xoftex" premiered in 2024 at the Karlovy Vary International Film Festival and earned Deshe the Best Director award at the Thessaloniki Film Festival. The film was released in German cinemas in April 2025.