Sigal Avin (also spelled: Segahl Avin, he, סיגל אבין) is an

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...

Israeli Israeli may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to the State of Israel * Israelis, citizens or permanent residents of the State of Israel * Modern Hebrew, a language * ''Israeli'' (newspaper), published from 2006 to 2008 * Guni Israeli ...

writer and director.

Early life

Sigal Avin was born in Miami, Florida, U.S. and returned to Israel with her

Israeli-Jewish Israeli Jews or Jewish Israelis ( he, יהודים ישראלים, translit=Yehudim Yisraelim) are Israeli citizens and nationals who are Jewish through either their Jewish ethnicity and/or their adherence to Judaism. The term also includ ...

parents at the age of ten. When she was sixteen her parents moved back to the States, this time to California. Her father got an offer to manage the Mondrian Hotel in Los Angeles. Avin decided to stay in Israel and finish school. Gal, Poria (March 4, 2005).
"An interview with Sigal Avin"
nrg Maariv Stern, Itay (March 24, 2016)
"A conversation with the most successful script woman in Israel"

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 f ...

. Yudovich, Daphna (June 6, 2006)
"An Interview with Sigal Avin"
Globes.

Career

Avin studied acting at the Yoram Lowenstein acting studio. She wrote and directed her first play ''How to make a boy'' in 1999 for Haifa’s International children’s theatre festival. In 2000 she wrote and directed ''Shmulik is a new friend'' for the same festival and won several prizes, among them, best show and best director. The story was about 3 kids who kidnap a grandmother with a banana because they don’t have one. Her first play for adults, ''With a gun and a smile'', a sad comedy about small people with small dreams, was chosen by the Israeli culture department to participate in the Australian International Playwrights Festival. "Freaks"
Habima Theatre site. In 2002 Avin created a show called ''Freaks'', inspired by the Todd Brownings film of the same name. The show had no words, was highly praised and was invited to festivals all over the world. In 2003 Avin created and was show-runner of the acclaimed telenovela ''Game of life''. In 2004 Avin created and was show-runner of ''Michaella''. In 2005 Avin created and was show-runner of ''Telenovela Inc'', which told her personal story about the struggle she had trying to write her first telenovela, and the hectic,

surreal Surreal may refer to: *Anything related to or characteristic of Surrealism, a movement in philosophy and art * "Surreal" (song), a 2000 song by Ayumi Hamasaki * ''Surreal'' (album), an album by Man Raze *Surreal humour, a common aspect of humor ...

, life around that industry. The shows still air on Israeli TV in syndication. Between 2005–2007 Avin was Artistic Manager and director of the young Habima Company (Israel’s national theatre), where she created ''Taxi'', a play about lonely souls and the Israeli decadent night life and directed Marivoux’s ''The Dispute'' as a modern

reality TV Reality television is a genre of television programming that documents purportedly unscripted real-life situations, often starring unfamiliar people rather than professional actors. Reality television emerged as a distinct genre in the early 19 ...

show. In 2007 Avin created the dramedy ''Mythological Ex'' for the Israeli channel 2 Keshet. CBS bought the

format Format may refer to: Printing and visual media * Text formatting, the typesetting of text elements * Paper formats, or paper size standards * Newspaper format, the size of the paper page Computing * File format, particular way that informatio ...

and the American version entitled '' The Ex List'' premiered in 2008 starring Elizabeth Reaser as the lead. In 2010 Avin wrote and directed a short film called ''You shall know no grief'', in the 48 hour film project, and won first prize. In 2013, Avin, inspired by the fact she had become a mother, co-created, wrote and directed the comedy series ''Bilti Hafich'' (Irreversible), about what happens to a couple after having their first child. The show starring Adi Ashkenazi and Muli Shulman, premiered on channel 2 Reshet and was the number one comedy in Israel that year. ABC bought the format. Avin teamed up with Peter Tolan and Sony studios and wrote and directed the American pilot ''Irreversible'' Starring David Schwimmer as the lead. In June 2014 she was featured on Variety’s list of, “10 TV Scribes to Watch.” In February 2016 the second season of ''Bilti Hafich'', that Avin wrote and directed, aired in Israel. In December 2016, Avin launched a project she created, wrote and directed called ''Zematrid'' on Facebook in Israel. The project includes five short films that show the dynamic behind

sexual harassment Sexual harassment is a type of harassment involving the use of explicit or implicit sexual overtones, including the unwelcome and inappropriate promises of rewards in exchange for sexual favors. Sexual harassment includes a range of actions fro ...

. The project went viral in a couple of hours. Among the actors in the films are Lior Ashkenazi and

Hadas Yaron Hadas Yaron ( he, הדס ירון; born April 12, 1990) is an Israeli actress. She began acting as a child and made her film debut as a supporting actress in the 2006 film, ''Out of Sight''. Yaron played lead character Shira Mendelman in the 2012 ...

. In April 2017 Avin launched the American version of her films depicting sexual harassment called #that's harassment. David Schwimmer and

Mazdack Rassi Mazdack Rassi is an Iranian-American real estate and creative entrepreneur. He is best known as the co-founder of Milk Studios with partners Erez Shternlicht and Moishe Mana, as a co-founder of Milk Makeup and Camp David in Brooklyn, New York ...

from MILK studios produced. The films star – David Schwimmer, Cynthia Nixon, Emmy Rossum,

Bobby Cannavale Roberto Michael Cannavale (; born May 3, 1970) is an American actor. He is best known for various television roles, including leading roles in ''Third Watch'', ''Vinyl'', and ''Mr. Robot'', as well as recurring roles in ''Will & Grace'', which wo ...

, Michael Kelly, and more.

Personal life

Sigal Avin is married to Amit Mashiah, chief executive officer of Mccann, Tel Aviv. They have two daughters.Toker, Nati (November 22, 2016)
"In three years 20% of Mccann Tel Aviv employees will be Haredi, Arabs or Beta Israel"
The Marker. Sigal lives both in Tel Aviv and

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Avin, Sigal 1974 births Living people Israeli female screenwriters Israeli female dramatists and playwrights Israeli television directors Israeli theatre directors Women television directors