Gidi Avivi (born 1961) is an Israeli

film producer A film producer is a person who oversees film production. Either employed by a production company or working independently, producers plan and coordinate various aspects of film production, such as selecting the script, coordinating writing, di ...

, the founder of Vice Versa Films.

Education and early career

Avivi holds a

Master's degree A master's degree (from Latin ) is an academic degree awarded by universities or colleges upon completion of a course of study demonstrating mastery or a high-order overview of a specific field of study or area of professional practice.

in Cinema Studies from

New York University New York University (NYU) is a private research university in New York City. Chartered in 1831 by the New York State Legislature, NYU was founded by a group of New Yorkers led by then- Secretary of the Treasury Albert Gallatin. In 1832, th ...

and a

Bachelor of Fine Arts A Bachelor of Fine Arts (BFA) is a standard undergraduate degree for students for pursuing a professional education in the visual, fine or performing arts. It is also called Bachelor of Visual Arts (BVA) in some cases. Background The Bachel ...

degree in Film and Television from

Tel Aviv University Tel Aviv University (TAU) ( he, אוּנִיבֶרְסִיטַת תֵּל אָבִיב, ''Universitat Tel Aviv'') is a public research university in Tel Aviv, Israel. With over 30,000 students, it is the largest university in the country. Locate ...

. Avivi was the Head of the Music Department and a music programmer at the IDF radio station. Concurrently, Avivi was the popular music critic for the weekly magazine

Ha'ir ''Ha'ir'' (, lit ''The City'') is a weekly local newspaper published in Tel Aviv, Israel. The tabloid-sized newspaper was first published in October 1980. Since April 2005 when there was a major shakeup in the business structure of newspaper's p ...

from 1983 to 1987 and the daily newspaper ''

Haaretz ''Haaretz'' ( , originally ''Ḥadshot Haaretz'' – , ) is an Israeli newspaper. It was founded in 1918, making it the longest running newspaper currently in print in Israel, and is now published in both Hebrew and English in the Berliner ...

'' from 1994 to 2006.

Film and TV Career

Between 1994 and 1998 Avivi created (with Yoav Kutner, Ami Amir, Arik Bernstein and Gabriel Bibliowicz) a comprehensive 12-part documentary series about the history of Israeli rock music, ''“Sof Onat Hatapuzim”'' ("End of the Orange Season"). In 2006 Avivi produced two documentary films: ''Bekummernis'' (with Ido Sela) and ''The Cahana Sisters'' (with Amir Harel and Gilad Melzer). In 2008 Avivi produced (with Yael Biron and Dror Nahum) a documentary about

Ehud Banai Ehud Banai ( he, אֵהוּד בַּנַּאי; born March 31, 1953) is an Israeli singer and songwriter. Biography Ehud Banai was born in Jerusalem. His father was the actor Yaakov Banai, one of the Banai siblings. The family moved to Givatayim ...

and The Refugees - ''On The Move''. In 2011 Avivi founded Vice Versa Films, a production house for

feature film A feature film or feature-length film is a narrative film (motion picture or "movie") with a running time long enough to be considered the principal or sole presentation in a commercial entertainment program. The term ''feature film'' originall ...

short film A short film is any motion picture that is short enough in running time not to be considered a feature film. The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences defines a short film as "an original motion picture that has a running time of 40 minutes ...

s and

TV series A television show – or simply TV show – is any content produced for viewing on a television set which can be broadcast via over-the-air, satellite, or cable, excluding breaking news, advertisements, or trailers that are typically placed b ...

Film festivals

Since 2016 Avivi is the Artistic Consultant of Solidarity International Human Rights Film Festival, Tel Aviv. The fourth edition of Solidarity Festival took place in April 2016 at the

Tel Aviv Cinematheque Tel Aviv Cinematheque (also called: Doron Cinema center) is a cinematheque and movie archive, opened in Tel Aviv on 12 May 1973. The Cinematheque, located at HaArba'a Street 5, has five screening halls. The Cinematheque programming includes Is ...

. The fifth edition of the festival took place in May 2017. The opening night film was "

The Unknown Girl ''The Unknown Girl'' () is a 2016 mystery drama film directed by the Dardenne brothers, and starring Adèle Haenel, Jérémie Renier, and Louka Minnella. ''The Unknown Girl'' was selected to compete for the '' Palme d'Or'' at the 2016 Cannes F ...

" directed by the

Dardenne Brothers Brothers Jean-Pierre Dardenne (; born 21 April 1951) and Luc Dardenne (born 10 March 1954), collectively referred to as the Dardenne brothers, are a Belgian filmmaking duo. They write, produce, and direct their films together. The Dardennes ...

. The lineup included documentaries, including " Speed Sisters" and narrative films including "

Junction 48 ''Junction 48'' is a 2016 Israeli drama film directed by Udi Aloni, co-written by Oren Moverman and the film's star Tamer Nafar. It was shown in the Panorama section at the 66th Berlin International Film Festival where it won the Audience Award. ...

". In 2009, Avivi, with Micky Laron, founded ''EPOS'', an annual event based at

Tel Aviv Museum of Art Tel Aviv Museum of Art ( he, מוזיאון תל אביב לאמנות ''Muzeon Tel Aviv Leomanut'') is an art museum in Tel Aviv, Israel. The museum is dedicated to the preservation and display of modern and contemporary art from Israel and aro ...

. Avivi was the Festival Director till 2015. In its inaugural year, the festival guests were Ben Lewis, Sheila Hayman and Rene Letzgus. In 2010 ''EPOS 2'' guests were

Percy Adlon Paul Rudolf Parsifal "Percy" Adlon (; born 1 June 1935) is a German director, screenwriter, and producer. He is best known for his film '' Bagdad Cafe''. He is associated with the New German Cinema movement (ca. 1965–1985), and has been noted ...

, Galina Eevtushenko, Lionel Guedj, Yony Leyser, Tom Magill, Sam McClean, Sergey Ovcharov,

Tony Palmer Tony Palmer (born 29 August 1941)IMDb: Tony Palmer
Retrieved 24 September 2011 is a British film direc ...

, Viktoria Petranyi, Kathie Russo,

Helma Sanders-Brahms Helma Sanders-Brahms (20 November 1940 – 27 May 2014) was a German film director, screenwriter and producer. Biography Helma Sanders was born on 20 November 1940 in Emden, Germany. She attended a school for acting in Hannover from 1960 to 1 ...

, and Lucy Walker. ''EPOS 3'' took place in 2012, and some of its films were also shown in Jerusalem, Haifa, and Beit She'an. The festival included a musical tribute to

Dave Brubeck David Warren Brubeck (; December 6, 1920 – December 5, 2012) was an American jazz pianist and composer. Often regarded as a foremost exponent of cool jazz, Brubeck's work is characterized by unusual time signatures and superimposing contrasti ...

by his son, Darius Brubeck, after a screening of a documentary film by

Clint Eastwood Clinton Eastwood Jr. (born May 31, 1930) is an American actor and film director. After achieving success in the Western TV series '' Rawhide'', he rose to international fame with his role as the " Man with No Name" in Sergio Leone's "'' Do ...

about the great

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with its roots in blues and ragtime. Since the 1920s Jazz Age, it has been recognized as a m ...

pianist. Among the festival's guests were Arantxa Aguirre,

John Bridcut John Bridcut is an English documentary filmmaker, best known for his films about British composers. His most famous work, '' Britten's Children'' (2004), is a study of the influence that Benjamin Britten's close relationships with children had on ...

Kevin Hood Kevin Hood is a playwright and screenwriter who is perhaps best known for contributing scripts to the BBC television series ''Grange Hill'' and the 2007 film ''Becoming Jane''. Career A successful playwright from 1987 to 1998, Hood wrote the plays ...

Lech Majewski Lech Majewski (pronounced , ‘Ma-yev-ski’) (born 30 August 1953) is a Polish film and theatre director, writer, poet, and painter. Life and career Born in Katowice, Poland, Majewski studied at the Academy of Fine Arts in Warsaw. In the 1970 ...

, Agnes Sos, Iwan Schumacher,

Philipp Stölzl Philipp Stölzl (born 1967 in Munich) is a German director. He began to direct music videos in the mid-1990s and directed his first feature film in 2002. Life and career Philipp Stölzl was trained as a set and costume designer at the Münchner ...

and Wiktoria Szymanska. EPOS 4 took place in 2013, with additional screenings of its films in various venues in Israel. The opening film of the festival was '

Yossi Banai Yosef "Yossi" Banai ( he, יֹוסֶף "יֹוסִי" בַנָאי; April 13, 1932 – May 11, 2006) was an Israeli performer, singer, actor, and dramatist. Biography Banai was born in Jerusalem during the Mandate era, and grew up in the neighb ...

– A Farewell Album', In addition to the film screenings, the festival hosted cultural and musical events. "Imagination at Work", a new exhibition by

Harun Farocki Harun Farocki (9 January 1944 – 30 July 2014) was a German filmmaker, author, and lecturer in film. Early life and education Farocki was born as Harun El Usman FaroqhiMargalit Fox (3 August 2014)''New York Times''. in Neutitschein, which is n ...

, who was the festival's guest, opened at Tel Aviv Museum of Art during the festival. The premiere of "The Composer's Cut", a new concert of

Jonathan Bar Giora Jonathan Bar Giora ( he, יונתן בר גיורא; born 8 July 1962) is an Israeli composer and pianist. Since 2000, Bar Giora has composed scores and soundtracks for Israeli films such as ''Bonjour Monsieur Shlomi'', '' Time of Favor, A Qui ...

, closed EPOS 4. EPOS 5, a 10-day extended edition of the festival, took place in 2014. The opening night film was "Mafriah ha-yonim" ("Farewell Baghdad), directed by Nissim Dayan.

Filmography

2017 * ''Ron Arad - Not Without White Gloves''. Director: Avida Livny; a documentary that focuses on a year in the life of Ron Arad, the world-renowned artist, industrial designer, and architect, as he develops, creates, and exhibits his installations and art works in Jerusalem, Venice, Groningen, London, Holon and Tel Aviv. The premiere of the film took place at

Docaviv Docaviv, subtitled "the Tel Aviv International Documentary Film Festival" is the only film festival in Israel dedicated to documentary films, and the largest film festival in Tel Aviv. It is run by a non-profit organisation A nonprofit ...

– Tel Aviv International Documentary Film Festival. * ''A Night With No Dawn''. Director: Sara Bozakov; a 21-minute short narrative film about a night in the life of five asylum seekers from Sudan, who are on their way to be imprisoned in the Holot Detention facility near the Israel-Egypt border. The premiere took place at the

Tel Aviv International Student Film Festival The Tel Aviv International Student Film Festival is the largest of its kind in the world and is considered one of the most important in its field. The film festival hosts hundreds of students, lecturers and guests of honor from the world's lead ...

, and the film was given the "Best Film" award in the Israeli Competition. 2016 * ''Freedom Runners'' (Original title: Ratsim Lahofesh). Director: David Wachsmann; a 50-minute documentary about a high school teacher that founds a running team for his students, African refugees and asylum seekers, who live in south

Tel Aviv Tel Aviv-Yafo ( he, תֵּל־אָבִיב-יָפוֹ, translit=Tēl-ʾĀvīv-Yāfō ; ar, تَلّ أَبِيب – يَافَا, translit=Tall ʾAbīb-Yāfā, links=no), often referred to as just Tel Aviv, is the most populous city in the G ...

. The international premiere of the film took place at Woodstock Film Festival. * ''The Ambassador's Wife'' (Original title: Eshet Hashagrir). Director: Dina Zvi-Riklis; a 40-minute drama based on a screenplay and story by Alma Ganihar, starring

Ester Rada Ester Rada ( he, אסתר רָדָא, born March 7, 1985) is an Israeli actress and singer. Biography Rada was born in Kiryat Arba, Israel, to a religious Ethiopian-Jewish family. Her parents, originally from a village near Gondar, were re ...

as the wife of an Eritrean Ambassador who must flee her country and find refuge in south Tel Aviv. With

Yehezkel Lazarov Yehezkel Lazarov ( he, יחזקאל לזרוב Y'ḥezeqel Lazarov; born 8 February 1974) is an Israeli actor, director, and multidisciplinary artist. In 2022 he was elected to serve as the head of the school of Performing Arts at the Kibbutzim Sem ...

. The Israeli premiere screening of the film took place at Haifa Film Festival. * ''Jihad Now'' (Original title: Jihad Akhshav). Directors: Anna Somershaf and Henrique Cymerman; a 4-hour series presented by Henrique Cymerman about Global

Jihad Jihad (; ar, جهاد, jihād ) is an Arabic word which literally means "striving" or "struggling", especially with a praiseworthy aim. In an Islamic context, it can refer to almost any effort to make personal and social life conform with G ...

, from the formation of

al-Qaeda Al-Qaeda (; , ) is an Islamic extremist organization composed of Salafist jihadists. Its members are mostly composed of Arabs, but also include other peoples. Al-Qaeda has mounted attacks on civilian and military targets in various countr ...

to the

European migrant crisis The 2015 European migrant crisis, also known internationally as the Syrian refugee crisis, was a period of significantly increased movement of refugees and migrants into Europe in 2015, when 1.3 million people came to the continent to reques ...

and the fight against

ISIS Isis (; ''Ēse''; ; Meroitic: ''Wos'' 'a''or ''Wusa''; Phoenician: 𐤀𐤎, romanized: ʾs) was a major goddess in ancient Egyptian religion whose worship spread throughout the Greco-Roman world. Isis was first mentioned in the Old Kin ...

. The series was nominated for the Israel Filmmakers Documentary Forum award. 2014 *''Never Turn Your Back on Sparks'' (Original title: Leolam Beikvot Sparks). Director: Pini Schatz; a documentary comedy about fans of the "coolest underrated rock band in the world": Sparks. * East Jerusalem/West Jerusalem (Hebrew title: Mizrah Yerushalayim / Maarav Yerushalayim). Directors: Henrique Cymerman and Erez Miller; an award-winning feature-length documentary about a David Broza project that was recorded during 8 days and nights in a Palestinian studio in

Sheikh Jarrah Sheikh Jarrah ( ar, الشيخ جراح, he, שייח' ג'ראח) is a predominantly Palestinian neighborhood in East Jerusalem, north of the Old City, on the road to Mount Scopus. It received its name from the 13th-century tomb of Sheikh Ja ...

with a band consisting of Jewish and Arab musicians. With

Steve Earle Stephen Fain Earle (; born January 17, 1955) is an American singer-songwriter, record producer, author, and actor. Earle began his career as a songwriter in Nashville and released his first EP in 1982. Initially working in the country music ...

and

Mira Awad Mīrā Anwar ‘Awaḍ ( ar, ميرا عوض, he, מירה עווד; born June 11, 1975) is an Arab-Israeli The Arab citizens of Israel are the largest ethnic minority in the country. They comprise a hybrid community of Israeli citizens ...

. The film was acquired for world distribution by

Film Movement Film Movement is a North American distributor of independent and foreign films, which is based in New York City, founded in 2003. History Film Movement was founded in 2003, and has released more than 250 feature films and shorts. Having grown fr ...

and can be seen worldwide on

Netflix Netflix, Inc. is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service and production company based in Los Gatos, California. Founded in 1997 by Reed Hastings and Marc Randolph in Scotts Valley, California, it offers a ...

. 2013 *Not Your Life (Original title: Lo Ha-Hayim Shelakh; Working title: Gora). Director: Tal Shefi; a documentary that focuses on life choices and their meaning for the director and her daughter,a half-Nepalese-half Israeli girl, who grows up in Goa. 2012 *''Chicken Soup with Knives'' (Original title: ''Merak Of Im Sakinim''; Working title: ''This is Not a Holocaust Film''). Director: Leora Eisenstein; a documentary about the filmmaker's investigative journey with her sister to

Lviv Lviv ( uk, Львів) is the largest city in Western Ukraine, western Ukraine, and the List of cities in Ukraine, seventh-largest in Ukraine, with a population of . It serves as the administrative centre of Lviv Oblast and Lviv Raion, and is o ...

, her family's hometown before

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

. 2011 *'' Looking for Moshe Guez'' (Original title: ''Le'an Ne'elam Moshe Guez''). Director: Avida Livny; a documentary about the filmmaker's search for the Israeli director Moshe Guez and his rarely seen

, ''The Angel was a Devil''. *''Running Movie'' (Original title: ''Seret Ratz''). Director: Omer Peled; a documentary about the Israeli long-distance runner Seteng Ayele (AKA Haile Satayin), the oldest marathon runner in the

2008 Summer Olympic The 2008 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXIX Olympiad () and also known as Beijing 2008 (), were an international multisport event held from 8 to 24 August 2008, in Beijing, China. A total of 10,942 athletes from 204 Nat ...

Beijing } Beijing ( ; ; ), Chinese postal romanization, alternatively romanized as Peking ( ), is the Capital city, capital of the China, People's Republic of China. It is the center of power and development of the country. Beijing is the world's Li ...

and his efforts to compete at the age of 55, in the

2012 Summer Olympics The 2012 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXX Olympiad and also known as London 2012) was an international multi-sport event held from 27 July to 12 August 2012 in London, England, United Kingdom. The first event, th ...

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

.Running Movie on IDFA's Docs for sale
/ref> 2008 *''On the Move'' (Original title: ''Hayav Lazuz''). Director: Avida Livny; a film about courage, friendship and

rock and roll Rock and roll (often written as rock & roll, rock 'n' roll, or rock 'n roll) is a genre of popular music that evolved in the United States during the late 1940s and early 1950s. It originated from African-American music such as jazz, rhythm ...

, about

and Yossi Elephant, about the Israeli rock band "The Refugees", and especially about the passion for doing the right thing. 2006 *''The Cahana Sisters'' (Original title: ''Haahayot Cahana''). Director: Gilad Melzer; a group portrait and dramatic life journey of four sisters who had survived the death camps together during the

Holocaust The Holocaust, also known as the Shoah, was the genocide of European Jews during World War II. Between 1941 and 1945, Nazi Germany and its collaborators systematically murdered some six million Jews across German-occupied Europe; ...

. *''Bekummernis''. Director: Ido Sela; a personal documentary about the director's visit to kibbutz

Kfar HaNassi Kfar HaNassi ( he, כְּפַר הַנָּשִׂיא, ''lit.'' President's Village) is a kibbutz in northern Israel. Located in the Korazim Plateau, 35 km north of the Sea of Galilee, and 6 km east of Rosh Pinna (near the hilly section ...

- a magical childhood landscape that turns into a scene of crime. 1998 *''End of the Orange Season'' (Original title: ''Sof Onat Hatapuzim''); an in-depth 12-part documentary series that explores the story of

Israeli rock Israeli rock ( he, רוק ישראלי, ''Rok Yisra'eli'') is rock music created by Israeli bands and singers. History 1960s Israel's initial attitude toward rock music was extremely negative. Israeli musicians of the time believed that it was a ...

music from the 1960s to the 1990s.

References

External links

*
Vice Versa Films
Official Website
Vice Versa Films
Official Facebook Page
''On The Move''
- Official Website
''EPOS''-The International Art Film Festival
- Official Website {{DEFAULTSORT:Avivi, Gidi Israeli film producers Documentary film producers Living people 1961 births Tel Aviv University alumni Tisch School of the Arts alumni