Ofra Bikel

Ofra Bikel (born in Israel) is a documentary filmmaker, and television producer. For more than two decades she was a mainstay of the acclaimed PBS series FRONTLINE producing over 25 award-winning documentaries, ranging from foreign affairs to critiques of the U.S. criminal justice system.

She graduated from the University of Paris and the Institut d'Études Politiques de Paris. She was married briefly to actor and folk singer, Theodore Bikel. She was a researcher for Time, Newsweek, and ABC Television. She moved to public television, producing films for the WGBH series World and later for the long-running series Frontline. In the mid-1970s, Bikel moved to her native Israel and produced more than 15 films. She returned to the U.S. in 1977.

Her documentary films intersperse long interviews with sharp, silent, moments.

• 2007 John Chancellor Award
• 2003 The Hillman Prize
• 2002 Alfred I. duPont–Columbia University Award
• 2002 Robert F. Kennedy Journalism Award
• 2002 Emmy Award Outstanding Investigative Journalism—Long Form
• 2000 NACDL Champion Of Justice Award
• 1994 Grand Prize at the Banff World Television Festival

• The Confessions, 2010
• Close to Home, 2009
• The Hugo Chávez Show, November 2008
• When Kids Get Life, 2007
• The Unexpected Candidate, March 2006
• The O.J. Verdict (2005)
• The Plea (2004)
• Requiem for Frank Lee Smith (2002)
• Saving Elian (2001)
• The Case for Innocence, January 2000
• Snitch (1999)
• The Search for Satan (1995)
• Divided Memories (1995)
• Clarence Thomas and Anita Hill: Public Hearing, Private Pain (1992)
• Poland—The Morning After (1990)
• American Games, Japanese Rules (1988)
• Israel: The Price of Victory (1987)
• The Russians Are Here (1983)
• Who Killed Sadat? (1982)
• Innocence Lost: The Plea (1997)
• Innocence Lost: The Verdict (1993)
• Innocence Lost (1991)