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

5 Broken Cameras ''5 Broken Cameras'' ( ar, خمس كاميرات محطمة ''Khamas Kamīrāt Muḥaṭṭamah''; he, חמש מצלמות שבורות ''Hamesh Matslemot Shvurot'') is a 94-minute documentary film co-directed by Palestinian Emad Burnat and Israel ...

'' was nominated for the 2013

Academy Award The Academy Awards, better known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international film industry. The awards are regarded by many as the most prestigious, significant awards in the entertainment ind ...

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

Emad Burnat Emad Burnat is a State of Palestine, Palestinian farmer and filmmaker. He is the first Palestinian nominated for the Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature. Film His documentary ''5 Broken Cameras'' is a first-hand account of life and demonst ...

in the 2012

Sundance Film Festival The Sundance Film Festival (formerly Utah/US Film Festival, then US Film and Video Festival) is an annual film festival organized by the Sundance Institute. It is the largest independent film festival in the United States, with more than 46,66 ...

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–based International Academy of Television Arts and S ...

as well as numerous awards worldwide. Davidi was born in

Jaffa Jaffa, in Hebrew Yafo ( he, יָפוֹ, ) and in Arabic Yafa ( ar, يَافَا) and also called Japho or Joppa, the southern and oldest part of Tel Aviv-Yafo, is an ancient port city in Israel. Jaffa is known for its association with the b ...

and grew up in

Holon Holon ( he, חוֹלוֹן ) is a city on the central coastal strip of Israel, south of Tel Aviv. Holon is part of the metropolitan Gush Dan area. In it had a population of . Holon has the second-largest industrial zone in Israel, after Haifa. ...

and

Kfar Saba Kfar Saba ( he, כְּפַר סָבָא), officially Kefar Sava, is a city in the Sharon region, of the Central District of Israel. In 2019 it had a population of 110,456, making it the 16th-largest city in Israel. The population of Kfar Saba i ...

in Israel.

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 one of the world's most enduring conflicts, beginning in the mid-20th century. Various attempts have been made to resolve the conflict as part of the Israeli–Palestinian peace process, alongside other ef ...

. 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. 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 ( he, גדעון לוי; 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. ...

. 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 ( ar, بلعين) 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 has a population of 1,8 ...

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

separation barrier A separation barrier or separation wall is a barrier, wall or fence, constructed to limit the movement of people across a certain line or border, or to separate peoples or cultures. A separation barrier that runs along an internationally recogni ...

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, better known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international film industry. The awards are regarded by many as the most prestigious, significant awards in the entertainment ind ...

, 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.

External links

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