Roy Cohen

Roy Cohen is an Israeli filmmaker, journalist and public health official. His work spans across documentary filmmaking and journalistic writing, with contributions to The Guardian and Israeli outlets such as +972 Magazine and Local Call.

Cohen was named by Globes as one of Israel's "40 Leaders Under 40."

Early life and education Cohen was born in 1985 in Ashdod, Israel. He studied neuroscience at Harvard University

Career Cohen worked as a research assistant at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Harvard University, where he conducted a study on the psychological effects of dialogue on individuals from conflict regions, which received the Thomas T. Hoopes Prize and the Gordon Allport Prize. His 2014 short film, Real Value, was commissioned by the UK's community channel.

In January 2015, Cohen published an essay titled "The Truth About Gaza" in The Montréal Review. Written in an absurdist style, the piece reflects on Israeli perceptions of Gaza. Cohen uses the refrain that "Gaza is not a real place" as a rhetorical device to critique how political narratives, media coverage, and repeated cycles of violence have shaped public consciousness in Israel.

In 2016, Cohen directed his first feature-length documentary Machine of Human Dreams about artificial intelligence researcher Ben Goertzel and his effort to develop artificial general intelligence. The film premiered at Sheffield Doc/Fest, and was distributed by Dogwoof. It won Best Technology Film of the Year from Russia's Polytechnic Museum.

In 2022, Cohen published an essay in the Guardian about his friendship with Palestinian Aseel Aslih and their membership in Seeds of Peace. It was long listed for One World Media Popular Features Award that year. His documentary Far From Maine, following an Israeli man who's compelled to deal with the violent and long-forgotten death of his Palestinian friend, was selected for 2023 Thessaloniki Doc Fest’s Pitching Forum.

In 2023, Cohen was named by Globes newspaper as one of Israel’s “40 Leaders Under 40”. He was among the signatories of an open letter by Jewish creatives supporting Jonatham Glazer’s Oscar acceptance speech.

In 2026, Cohen released "Far from Maine" at the International Film Festival Rotterdam.

Personal life Cohen lives in Tel Aviv with his husband, technology executive Toby Stein, and their daughter.