Guy Davidi (; born July 9, 1978) is an Israeli documentary filmmaker. His movie ''

5 Broken Cameras ''5 Broken Cameras'' (; ) is a 94-minute documentary film co-directed by Palestinian Emad Burnat and Israeli Guy Davidi. It was shown at film festivals in 2011 and placed in general release by Kino Lorber in 2012. ''5 Broken Cameras'' is a first ...

'' was nominated for the 2013

Academy Award The Academy Awards, commonly known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit in film. They are presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) in the United States in recognition of excellence ...

for Best Documentary Feature. Davidi also won the Best Directing Award along with Palestinian co-director Emad Burnat in the 2012

Sundance Film Festival The Sundance Film Festival is an annual film festival organized by the Sundance Institute. It is the largest independent film festival in the United States, with 423,234 combined in-person and online viewership in 2023. The festival has acted ...

and the 2013

international Emmy Award The International Emmy Awards, or International Emmys, are part of the extensive range of Emmy Awards for artistic and technical merit for the television industry. Bestowed by the New York City, New York–based International Academy of Televisi ...

as well as numerous awards worldwide. Davidi was born in

Jaffa Jaffa (, ; , ), also called Japho, Joppa or Joppe in English, is an ancient Levantine Sea, Levantine port city which is part of Tel Aviv, Tel Aviv-Yafo, Israel, located in its southern part. The city sits atop a naturally elevated outcrop on ...

and grew up in

Holon Holon (, ) is a city in the Tel Aviv District of Israel, located south of Tel Aviv. Holon is part of the Gush Dan, Gush Dan metropolitan area. In , it had a population of , making it the List of cities in Israel, tenth most populous city in Isra ...

and

Kfar Saba Kfar Saba ( ), officially Kfar Sava , is a List of Israeli cities, city in the Sharon plain, Sharon region, of the Central District (Israel), Central District of State of Israel, Israel. In 2019 it had a population of 110,456, making it the 16th-l ...

in Israel.

Cinematography

* Innocence (2022) * Mixed Feelings (2016) * High Hopes (2014) * 5 Broken Cameras (2011) * Women Defying Barriers (2009) * A Gift From Heaven (2008)

Early career

On 2005, after several years of working as a camera man, Davidi began directing documentaries that focused on everyday life in the

Israeli–Palestinian conflict The Israeli–Palestinian conflict is an ongoing military and political conflict about Territory, land and self-determination within the territory of the former Mandatory Palestine. Key aspects of the conflict include the Israeli occupation ...

. In 2006, Davidi directed the documentary ''In Working Progress'', which dealt with the issue of Palestinian construction workers who worked in Israeli settlements. The film was shown at a number of film festivals including screenings in France, New Zealand, and Italy. In 2008, Davidi directed the film ''A Gift from Heaven'', which documented the lives of foreign workers in Israeli farms that fell under rocket fire from

Gaza Gaza may refer to: Places Palestine * Gaza Strip, a Palestinian territory on the eastern coast of the Mediterranean Sea ** Gaza City, a city in the Gaza Strip ** Gaza Governorate, a governorate in the Gaza Strip Mandatory Palestine * Gaza Sub ...

. The film was shown at the Curtocircuito International Short Film Festival (Spain) and at the Worker’s Film Festival in Haifa, Israel. In 2009, the film ''Women Defying Barriers'' was released, which documented the joint meetings of Israeli and Palestinian women in the midst of attacks on Gaza during Operation Defensive Shield. It won the award for Best Documentary at the 2010 61 Montecatini Film festival (Italy). In 2010, Davidi directed "Keywords," a short documentary produced by Israeli Social TV. The film describes the creation of the play ''Keywords'', as based on the articles of Israeli journalist,

Gideon Levy Gideon Levy (, ; born 2 June 1953) is an Israeli journalist and author. Levy writes opinion pieces and a weekly column for the newspaper ''Haaretz'' that often focus on the Israeli occupation of the Palestinian territories. Levy has won prizes ...

. The film was screened at the 2010 International Film Festival in Haifa, as well as the Sole Luna Festival in Italy. That same year, Davidi also released his first full-length film, '' Interrupted Streams'', which was jointly directed and produced by Davidi and Alexandre Goetschmann. The film deals with access to drinking water in the Palestinian village of Bil'in and shows the influence of the water shortage on the villagers' lives. It won the David Silver Award at the 2011 Jewish Film Festival in Warsaw, and was also nominated for Best Documentary at the Jerusalem Film Festival and at the Cinema South Festival in Israel.

''5 Broken Cameras''

At the end of 2011, Davidi released his second feature-length film, ''

'', a joint Israeli-Palestinian-French production in cooperation with Israel's Channel 8 as well as TV channels in France and the Netherlands. The film is based on six years of video footage taken by photographer Emad Burnat, a resident of

Bil'in Bil'in () is a Palestinian village located in the Ramallah and al-Bireh Governorate, west of the city of Ramallah in the central West Bank. According to the Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics, Bil'in had a population of 2,137 in 2017. I ...

. The film chronicles the village’s struggle against the construction of the

separation barrier A separation barrier or separation wall is a Barricade, barrier, wall or fence, constructed to limit the movement of people across a certain line or border, or to ethnic segregation, separate peoples or cultures. A separation barrier that runs a ...

as seen through the eyes of Burnat, as well as the effects of the village’s struggle on Burnat's family and personal life. The film was met with international acclaim, winning the World Cinema Directing Award at the

in 2012, the Special Broadcaster IDFA Audience Award and the Special Jury Award at the International Documentary Film Festival Amsterdam in 2011, the 2012 Audience Award at the Sheffield Doc/Fest, the 2013

as well as more than ten other awards from around the world. The film was also sold to dozens of TV stations and was released in movie theaters across the world including the United States, Canada, England, France, and Japan. The film was screened at the 2012 Jerusalem Film Festival and the 2012 Israeli Cinema South Festival, where it won the Juliano Mer Prize. The film was nominated in the category of Best Documentary at the

Academy Awards The Academy Awards, commonly known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit in film. They are presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) in the United States in recognition of excellence in ...

, where it ran against another Israeli production, '' The Gatekeepers''. Davidi sparked controversy when he stated in an interview with Israeli TV that "he does not represent Israel, only himself" at the Oscars.

Current projects

In addition to his work as a filmmaker, Davidi also teaches cinema and video skills for the project, Video Act. The project works with artists to help them independently produce films that promote critical thinking and social change.

References

External links

* *
The film “A Gift from Heaven” on the MAKO website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Davidi, Guy Living people Israeli cinematographers Israeli documentary filmmakers 1978 births