Arad Sawat (born January 23, 1975), is an Israeli set and production designer for television and in the film industry. He has designed and created sets for many television drama series and feature films, as well as designing conceptual spaces for industrial complexes. Sawat received international acclaim for his artistic design in Oscar-nominated ''Footnote'' (2011), winner of the Best Screenplay Award at the

2011 Cannes Film Festival The 64th Cannes Film Festival was held from 11 to 22 May 2011. American actor Robert De Niro served as the president of the jury for the main competition and French filmmaker Michel Gondry headed the jury for the short film competition. South Ko ...

. He is a three time

Ophir Award The Ophir Awards ( he, פרס אופיר), colloquially known as the Israeli Oscars or the Israeli Academy Awards, are film awards for excellence in the Israeli film industry awarded by the Israeli Academy of Film and Television. The award, named ...

winner for Best Artistic Direction.

Biography

Early life

He was born in

Tzfat Safed (known in Hebrew as Tzfat; Sephardic Hebrew & Modern Hebrew: צְפַת ''Tsfat'', Ashkenazi Hebrew: ''Tzfas'', Biblical Hebrew: ''Ṣǝp̄aṯ''; ar, صفد, ''Ṣafad''), is a city in the Northern District of Israel. Located at an elevat ...

, Israel, to Jewish parents. In 1993 he enlisted in the

IDF IDF or idf may refer to: Defence forces * Irish Defence Forces * Israel Defense Forces *Iceland Defense Force, of the US Armed Forces, 1951-2006 * Indian Defence Force, a part-time force, 1917 Organizations * Israeli Diving Federation * Interac ...

and served in the Intelligence Corps. On completion of his military service in 1996 he moved to

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 ...

Career

In 1996 Sawat began work as a props man and stylist for television. In the late 90s he began working as a

set designer Scenic design (also known as scenography, stage design, or set design) is the creation of theatrical, as well as film or television scenery. Scenic designers come from a variety of artistic backgrounds, but in recent years, are mostly trained ...

in television productions, as well as designing sets for commercial advertising. In particular, he designed and created sets which were built outside the television studios. Over the years he broadened the scope of his portfolio, and applied his professional expertise to include architectural and spatial design in commercial and industrial complexes. In 2011, based on his experience in set, product and interior design, Sawat began working in feature film production design. On the same year, his first feature film credit as a production designer, ''Footnote'', was released. For his work on the film, he was awarded the Israeli Film Academy Award for best production design. Following the film's great success, Sawat continued to work with leading directors. In 2014, Sawat designed Natalie Portman's debut film as a director, ''A Tale of Love and Darkness'', based on the autobiographical

best seller A bestseller is a book or other media noted for its top selling status, with bestseller lists published by newspapers, magazines, and book store chains. Some lists are broken down into classifications and specialties (novel, nonfiction book, cook ...

Amos Oz Amos Oz ( he, עמוס עוז; born Amos Klausner; 4 May 1939 – 28 December 2018) was an Israeli writer, novelist, journalist, and intellectual. He was also a professor of Hebrew literature at Ben-Gurion University of the Negev. From 1967 onw ...

. The film premiered at the

2015 Cannes Film Festival The 68th Cannes Film Festival was held from 13 to 24 May 2015. Joel and Ethan Coen were the Presidents of the Jury for the main competition. It was the first time that two people chaired the jury. Since the Coen brothers each received a separate ...

. Following his second visit to Cannes, Sawat drew the attention of international film industry professionals. In 2016 he was signed by the Dattner Dispoto and Associates talent agency, and has since begun to focus on international projects. Today Sawat lives in

Lisbon Lisbon (; pt, Lisboa ) is the capital and largest city of Portugal, with an estimated population of 544,851 within its administrative limits in an area of 100.05 km2. Grande Lisboa, Lisbon's urban area extends beyond the city's administr ...

Portugal Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic ( pt, República Portuguesa, links=yes ), is a country whose mainland is located on the Iberian Peninsula of Southwestern Europe, and whose territory also includes the Atlantic archipelagos of ...

and works in the US,

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

Croatia , image_flag = Flag of Croatia.svg , image_coat = Coat of arms of Croatia.svg , anthem = "Lijepa naša domovino"("Our Beautiful Homeland") , image_map = , map_caption = , capit ...

Bulgaria Bulgaria (; bg, България, Bǎlgariya), officially the Republic of Bulgaria,, ) is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the eastern flank of the Balkans, and is bordered by Romania to the north, Serbia and North Macedon ...

Morocco Morocco (),, ) officially the Kingdom of Morocco, is the westernmost country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It overlooks the Mediterranean Sea to the north and the Atlantic Ocean to the west, and has land borders with Algeria to ...

Singapore Singapore (), officially the Republic of Singapore, is a sovereign island country and city-state in maritime Southeast Asia. It lies about one degree of latitude () north of the equator, off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, borde ...

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

, and

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...

. He is in a relationship with film director and writer Maysaloun Hamoud and they have a daughter named Layla.

Design Projects

Cinema

* ''Beirut'' (2018) * ''

Foxtrot The foxtrot is a smooth, progressive dance characterized by long, continuous flowing movements across the dance floor. It is danced to big band (usually vocal) music. The dance is similar in its look to waltz, although the rhythm is in a tim ...

'' (2017) * ''

Norman Norman or Normans may refer to: Ethnic and cultural identity * The Normans, a people partly descended from Norse Vikings who settled in the territory of Normandy in France in the 10th and 11th centuries ** People or things connected with the Norm ...

'' (2016) * ''A Tale of Love and Darkness'' (2015) * ''

The Farewell Party ''The Farewell Party'' ( he, מיתה טובה ''Mita Tova'') is a 2014 Israeli drama film about the use of a euthanasia device, directed by Tal Granit and Sharon Maymon. It was nominated for the Ophir Award for Best Film. The film was screened ...

'' (2014) * ''Self Made'' (2014) * ''Up the Wrong Tree'' (2013) * ''

Big Bad Wolves ''Big Bad Wolves'' ( he, מי מפחד מהזאב הרע, ''Mi mefakhed mehaze'ev hara'', direct translation: "Who's afraid of the bad wolf") is a 2013 Israeli black comedy horror-thriller film written and directed by Aharon Keshales and Navot Pa ...

'' (2013) * ''70 Years Venezia – the Venice International Festival'' (2013) * '' Hunting Elephants'' (2013) * ''The Dealers'' (2012) * ''Bananas'' (2012) * ''Footnote'' (2011)

Television series

*''

Our Boys ''Our Boys'' is a comedy in three acts written by Henry James Byron, first performed in London on 16 January 1875 at the Vaudeville Theatre. Until it was surpassed by the run of ''Charley's Aunt'' in the 1890s, it was the world's longest-runn ...

'' (2019) * ''Absentia'' (2017+2019) * ''Breaking Waves'' (2014) * ''

North Star Polaris is a star in the northern circumpolar constellation of Ursa Minor. It is designated α Ursae Minoris ( Latinized to ''Alpha Ursae Minoris'') and is commonly called the North Star or Pole Star. With an apparent magnitude that ...

'' (2014) * '' Sabri Maranan'' (2013) * ''Tanuchi!'' (2012) * '' Alifim'' (2011) * ''Fifteen Minutes'' (2011) * ''A Wonderful Divorce'' (2010) (Season 1) * ''

Asfur ''Asfur'' ( he, עספור) is an Israeli television series, which is broadcast on the channel HOT3. Its title, which literally means "bird" in Arabic, is the main protagonist's "good luck bird" – his late grandfather believed that its arriv ...

'' (2010) (Seasons 1, 2) * ''Hatzarot Sheli Im Nashim'' (2010) * ''Tichon HaShir Shelanu'' (2009) * ''

HaShir Shelanu ''HaShir Shelanu'' ( he, השיר שלנו, lit. ''Our Song'') was an Israeli daily comical musical telenovela starring Ninet Tayeb that took place for four seasons on the yes-5 Israeli Movie Channel (Arutz Ha'kolnoa Hayisraeli) and repeating o ...

'' (2009) * ''Hasufim'' (2008) (Seasons 1, 2) * ''

HaShminiya ''HaShminiya'' ( he, הַשְּׁמִינִיָּה; ''The Eight'') is a television series that was broadcast on the Israeli channel Arutz HaYeladim in Hot (Israel), HOT. Although the show was designated for children and teenagers, it was also pop ...

'' (2007) (Seasons 1, 2, 3) * '' HaPijamot'' (2004)

Commercial Spaces

* Studio for

Fox Sports Fox Sports is the brand name for a number of sports channels, broadcast divisions, programming, and other media around the world. The ''Fox Sports'' name has since been used for other sports media assets. These assets are held mainly by the Fo ...

, Singapore. (2014) * Gallery Studio, Israel (2014) *

STAR TV Star TV may refer to: * E! (Canadian TV channel) (formerly Star!), a Canadian entertainment news channel * Las Estrellas (Spanish for The Stars), the Mexican television network * Estrella TV (Spanish for Star TV), the American Spanish-language net ...

Studio, India (2013) * Israel Sports News Studio (2013) * Gindi Soferim Retail Arcade (2012)

Awards

* Israeli Film Academy Award for Best Artistic Design in ''Foxtrot.'' * Israeli Film Academy Award for Best Artistic Design in ''Big Bad Wolves'' (the film won the

Saturn Award The Saturn Awards are American awards presented annually by the Academy of Science Fiction, Fantasy and Horror Films. The awards were created to honor science fiction, fantasy, and horror in film, but have since grown to reward other films be ...

for the best foreign film and best soundtrack 2013). * Israeli Film Academy Award for Best Artistic Design in ''Footnote'' (the film won the best screenplay award at the 2011 Cannes Film Festival – Prix du Scenario, and was nominated for an Oscar award).

External links

Official website
* * * *

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sawat, Arad 1975 births Living people Production designers