Savi (Shabtay) Gabizon (; born 23 July 1960) is an Israeli

filmmaker Filmmaking or film production is the process by which a Film, motion picture is produced. Filmmaking involves a number of complex and discrete stages, beginning with an initial story, idea, or commission. Production then continues through screen ...

screenwriter A screenwriter (also called scriptwriter, scribe, or scenarist) is a person who practices the craft of writing for visual mass media, known as screenwriting. These can include short films, feature-length films, television programs, television ...

and producer. In addition, he is also an

adjunct professor An adjunct professor is a type of academic appointment in higher education who does not work at the establishment full-time. The terms of this appointment and the job security of the tenure vary in different parts of the world, but the term is gen ...

in the film department of

Tel Aviv University Tel Aviv University (TAU) is a Public university, public research university in Tel Aviv, Israel. With over 30,000 students, it is the largest university in the country. Located in northwest Tel Aviv, the university is the center of teaching and ...

Career

Gabizon was born and raised in

Kiryat Yam Kiryat Yam (, lit. ''Sea Town'') is a city in the Haifa Bay district of Israel, north of Haifa. One of a group of Haifa suburbs known as the Krayot, it is located on the Mediterranean coast, between Kiryat Haim and the Tzur Shalom industrial ar ...

, near

Haifa Haifa ( ; , ; ) is the List of cities in Israel, third-largest city in Israel—after Jerusalem and Tel Aviv—with a population of in . The city of Haifa forms part of the Haifa metropolitan area, the third-most populous metropolitan area i ...

, the son of parents born in

Turkey Turkey, officially the Republic of Türkiye, is a country mainly located in Anatolia in West Asia, with a relatively small part called East Thrace in Southeast Europe. It borders the Black Sea to the north; Georgia (country), Georgia, Armen ...

. In 1974 he enrolled in the Haifa military academy. After

military service Military service is service by an individual or group in an army or other militia, air forces, and naval forces, whether as a chosen job (volunteer military, volunteer) or as a result of an involuntary draft (conscription). Few nations, such ...

in the IDF's filming unit, he enrolled at

, where he graduated in 1987 with a BA in film and television. Since 1993 he has taught film direction and scriptwriting there. He also teaches at the

Sam Spiegel Film and Television School The Sam Spiegel Film and Television School () is a film and television school in Jerusalem, Israel that was founded in 1989 as the Jerusalem School of Film. It was renamed in honor of Hollywood producer Sam Spiegel in 1996 with the acquisition ...

and at the Camera Oscura School of Art, both in

Tel Aviv Tel Aviv-Yafo ( or , ; ), sometimes rendered as Tel Aviv-Jaffa, and usually referred to as just Tel Aviv, is the most populous city in the Gush Dan metropolitan area of Israel. Located on the Israeli Mediterranean coastline and with a popula ...

. He is a

reservist A reservist is a person who is a member of a military reserve force. They are otherwise civilians, and in peacetime have careers outside the military. Reservists usually go for training on an annual basis to refresh their skills. This person ca ...

in the film unit of the

Israeli Army The Israeli Ground Forces () are the Army, ground forces of the Israel Defense Forces (IDF). The commander is the GOC Army Headquarters, General Officer Commanding with the rank of major general, the ''Mazi'', subordinate to the Chief of the Gen ...

, and director of the drama department at the

Reshet Reshet (, ''lit.'' "Network") is an Israeli television broadcasting and production company. It was one of the two concessionaires running the Israeli commercial television channel, Channel 2 from 1993 to 2017, and is running channel 13 alongsi ...

TV network.

Films

In 1986 Gabizon made a short, ''They Call Me Itzik''. His first feature film, ''Shuroo'', a satirical social comedy which he both wrote and directed, was released in 1991. It was a

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success, and won several prizes, including seven Ophir Awards from the

Israeli Academy of Film and Television Israeli Academy of Film and Television is a non-profit organization working in the fields of film and television in Israel. History The Israeli Academy of Film and Television, founded in 1990, is the Israeli equivalent of the US-based Academy o ...

, best actor award at the

Haifa International Film Festival The Haifa International Film Festival () is an annual film festival that takes place every autumn (between late September and late October), during the week-long holiday of Sukkot, in Haifa, Israel. History The festival was inaugurated in 1983 an ...

, and the Wolgin Award at the Jerusalem International Film Festival. His second film, ''Lovesick on Nana Street'' (Choleh Ahava B'Shikun Gimmel), another satirical social comedy which he both wrote and directed, came out in 1995. It also was a popular success, and won numerous prizes including eight Israeli Academy Ophir Awards, and the Wolgin Award and Lipper Prize at the Jerusalem festival in 1995. It also won the audience prize and a special mention at the

International Filmfestival Mannheim-Heidelberg The Mannheim-Heidelberg International Film Festival (), often referred to by the German-language initialism IFFMH, is an annual film festival established in 1952 hosted jointly by the cities of Mannheim and Heidelberg in Baden-Württemberg, the ...

, the jury prize at the

São Paulo International Film Festival The São Paulo International Film Festival (), also known internationally as Mostra, is an annual film festival held in the city of São Paulo, Brazil Brazil, officially the Federative Republic of Brazil, is the largest country in South Ame ...

and the critics' prize at Haifa in 1996. Gabizon's third film, ''Nina's Tragedies'' (Ha-Asonot Shel Nina), was released in 2003. It won eleven Ophir Awards and was the first Israeli narrative feature to be shown at the

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 ...

Utah Utah is a landlocked state in the Mountain states, Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It is one of the Four Corners states, sharing a border with Arizona, Colorado, and New Mexico. It also borders Wyoming to the northea ...

, in the United States. It was subsequently released in the United States. In 2017, he directed '' Longing''.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Gabizon, Savi 1960 births Living people People from Kiryat Yam Israeli film directors Israeli film producers Israeli male screenwriters Israeli people of Turkish-Jewish descent Ophir Award winners Jewish Israeli screenwriters Tel Aviv University alumni Academic staff of Tel Aviv University 20th-century Israeli male writers 21st-century Israeli male writers 20th-century Israeli screenwriters 21st-century Israeli screenwriters 20th-century Israeli Jews 21st-century Israeli Jews