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Naomi Levari
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Naomi Levari | |
|---|---|
נעמי לבארי | |
 Levari in 2019 | |
| Born | October 10, 1978 (age 47) |
| Education | Sam Spiegel Film and Television School (summa cum laude, 2004) |
| Occupations | Film producer, story editor |
| Years active | 2004–present |
| Notable work | Love Trilogy: Chained Love Trilogy: Stripped Fig Tree |
| Awards | Hamburg Film Festival, Gan Award Cannes Film Festival, Israeli Television Academy Award for Best Series (2x) |
Naomi Levari (Hebrew: נעמי לבארי; born October 10, 1978) is a German-American-Israeli film producer, development executive, and script consultant. She is the co-founder of Black Sheep Film Productions (Tel Aviv, 2010) and Electric Sheep GmbH (Berlin, 2018). Her work has premiered at the Cannes Film Festival, Berlin International Film Festival, Venice International Film Festival, Toronto International Film Festival, and Series Mania, accumulating over 100 international awards, including two Israeli Television Academy Awards for Best Series.
Early life and education
[edit]Levari was born in 1978 in the United States. From 1992 to 1996, she attended the Charles E. Smith Arts High School in Jerusalem, majoring in film. During those years, she was an active community organizer and youth group leader in Jerusalem.
In 1996, Levari refused compulsory military service in Israel as a conscientious objector.[1]
In 2004, Levari graduated from the Sam Spiegel Film and Television School in Jerusalem with highest honors (summa cum laude).[2] During her studies, she co-produced Oneg Shabat (dir. Michal Brezis and Oded Ben-Nun), a short film that went on to win multiple awards, and produced the documentary Blue White Collar Criminal (dir. Noam Kaplan), the first student film to be released commercially in the school's history.
Her graduation film, Draft, which she wrote and directed, screened at more than forty international film festivals, won four awards and two special mentions, and was sold to broadcasters worldwide. The film was selected as one of the best films in Sam Spiegel's history by an international jury of festival programmers, and has been included in academic curricula. Following its success, Levari was invited to lead a master class at Aarhus University in Denmark, titled Big Drama in Short Films.
During her studies, Levari received multiple scholarships and prizes, including the America-Israel Cultural Foundation scholarship, the Jerusalem Economic Corporation Prize, the Mayor's Prize, and production grants from the Television Authority and the Yehoshua Rabinowitz Foundation.[3]
In 2017, Levari relocated to Berlin, Germany.
Career
[edit]Producing
[edit]In 2005, Levari began her professional collaboration with producer Saar Yogev during the Jerusalem Film Festival. In 2008, the two began producing together, and in 2010 they co-founded Black Sheep Film Productions in Tel Aviv.[4][5] The company has produced films and television series that have premiered at international festivals including Cannes, the Berlin International Film Festival, the Venice International Film Festival, the Toronto International Film Festival, and Series Mania.[6] In 2011, Levari participated in the International Film Festival Rotterdam's Rotterdam Lab, a workshop for emerging producers. In 2013, she was invited by the French CNC to participate in a producers' program connected with the Cannes Film Festival. In 2016, she and director Yaron Shani presented the Love Trilogy as part of an international producers' program.[5] In 2018, Levari co-founded Electric Sheep GmbH, a Berlin-based production company focused on international co-productions, together with Saar Yogev and Michael Reuter.[6] The company's first feature co-production, Victim, premiered at the Venice International Film Festival, received the Producers' Award at Filmfest Hamburg, and was selected as Slovakia's submission for the Academy Award for Best International Feature Film.[7][6]
Script consulting, development and mentoring
[edit]Alongside her producing career, Levari works internationally as a script consultant, development executive and mentor.[8] Since 2021, she has served as an editorial consultant for First Cut Lab, facilitating and moderating the artistic content of its working sessions.[9] Her development work has also included Full Circle Lab Philippines, Canal+ Poland, Berlinale Script Station, and programs developed by Tatino Films with Netflix Grow Creative.[8] Levari has served as a mentor and consultant for development programs including Berlinale Talents, Serial Eyes, the European Women's Audiovisual Network (EWA), the Łódź Film School, and Tatino Films' Pop Up Series Incubator.[10][6][11] At the Łódź Film School, she has conducted screenplay-development workshops.[12] In 2025, she was one of the expert mentors of the Pop Up Series Incubator, an eight-month development program that culminated in an industry showcase at the Karlovy Vary International Film Festival.[13] In 2026, Levari was part of the team behind the inaugural Book-to-Screen at KVIFF initiative at the Karlovy Vary International Film Festival. The program was launched to strengthen cooperation between the publishing and audiovisual industries and to create a market for screen adaptation rights to literary works from Central and Eastern Europe.[14][15]
Teaching and industry roles
[edit]Levari has lectured and taught at film schools, universities and professional development programs. She was a recurring lecturer at the Sam Spiegel Film and Television School from 2015 to 2021, teaching courses including production for screenwriters and workshops on pitching. She has also delivered guest lectures and master classes at Columbia University, Sapir Academic College, Beit Berl College and Aarhus University.[8] Her professional teaching has included workshops for MIA, the Film Development Council of the Philippines, and the Script Consultant Lab in South Africa. From 2022 to 2023, she lectured at the Berlinale Co-Production Market on the role of the producer in the creative process. She has also moderated professional panels and case studies at the Berlinale Co-Production Market and the Berlinale Forum.[8][10] Levari has served on juries, selection committees and as an industry reader for film festivals, funds and development programs. Her roles have included the Jerusalem Film Festival, the Israeli Academy of Film and Television, the Israel Film Fund, the Jerusalem International Film Lab, Berlinale Talents Script Station, the Berlinale Co-Production Market, Connecting Cottbus, Munich Film Up!, Utopia International Film Festival, the Tel Aviv International Student Film Festival, and the Berlinale Talents Alumni Station selection committee.[8][10] Since 2021, Levari has been a member of the programming collective of the Jewish Film Festival Berlin Brandenburg.[16]
Activism
[edit]Levari has been a vocal advocate for social and political causes throughout her career. In 2013, she ran for the Knesset on the Da'am Workers Party list, headed by Asma Agbarieh-Zahalka, an Israeli-Palestinian socialist party advocating workers' rights and equality, though the party did not cross the electoral threshold.[17]
During the 2014 Israel–Gaza conflict, Levari released a video message titled A Message to Gaza, which gained wide attention on social media. Levari refused to give interviews about the matter. [18]
Filmography
[edit]| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2003 | Tzilibell | Producer | Short film |
| 2003 | Oneg Shabat (Sabbath Pleasure) | Co-producer | Short film |
| 2004 | Blue White Collar Criminal | Producer | Documentary film |
| 2004 | Draft | Producer, screenwriter, director | Short film
Winner of 5 Awards |
| 2006 | Bsorot Tovot (Good Tidings) | Co-executive producer | Television Series |
| 2010 | Teacher Irena | Producer, screenwriter | Documentary film
This film reached cult status in Israel, and opened the DocAviv Documentary Film Festival in Tel Aviv. It was nominated for an Ophir Award for Best Documentary. |
| 2011 | Ha-Chaim Ze Lo Ha-Kol
(Life Isn't Everything) |
Producer | Television Series; 21 episodes, season 9 |
| 2011 | Ameer Got His Gun | Executive producer, screenwriter, director | Documentary film
Winner of 4 Awards |
| 2012 | Batman at the Checkpoint | Executive producer | Short film |
| 2012 | Mishpacha Lo Bocharim
(You Can't Choose Family) |
Producer | Television Series |
| 2013 | Hanna's Journey | Co-producer | Feature film
Screened at Berlinale, Was nominated for a German Academy Award |
| 2014 | Farewell Herr Schwarz | Co-producer | Documentary film
Israeli Academy Awards Nominee, Won 10 awards at international film festivals |
| 2015 | A Bitter Mix | Executive producer | TV movie |
| 2015 | Split | Producer | Television series; 12 episodes |
| 2016 | One Week and a Day | Producer | Feature film
Was nominated for 7 Ophir Awards, won an award at Cannes, and in total 15 international nominations and 8 wins |
| 2016 | Facing the Wall | Producer | Short film
Nominated for an Israeli Academy Award, Winner of 5 Awards |
| 2016 | Mama's Angel | Producer | Television series; 10 episodes
Official Selection Series Mania |
| 2017 | Me'ever Lakav | Producer | Short film
Winner of 4 awards |
| 2018 | McMafia | Producer | Television series; 2 episodes |
| 2018 | Ceased to Be | Producer | Documentary film |
| 2018 | Love Trilogy: Stripped | Producer | Feature film
World Premiere Venice International Film Festival, Nominated for 4 Israeli Academy Awards |
| 2018 | Fig Tree | Producer | Feature film
World Premiere Toronto IFF, winner of 8 Awards including the prestigious Audentia Award, Nominated for 5 Israeli Academy Awards |
| 2019 | Love Trilogy: Chained | Producer | Feature film
World Premiere Berlin International Film Festival, winner 2 Israeli Academy Awards. Best Film, Best actor, Audience Award Jerusalem Film Festival |
| 2019 | Border of Pain | Producer, screenwriter | Documentary film |
| 2019 | Love Trilogy: Reborn | Producer | Feature film |
| 2020 | The Prophet | Producer | Documentary film |
| 2021 | Promised Lands | Co-Producer | Documentary film |
| 2021 | Dismissed | Producer | TV series
International Premiere - BANFF, Nominated for a Rocky Award. Winner of 10 Israeli TV Academy Awards |
| 2021 | Victim | Co-Producer | World Premiere Venice Film Festival, winner of 6 int'l Awards |
| 2022 | Dismissed 2 | Producer | TV series, winner of 8 Israeli TV Academy Awards |
| 2023 | Innermost | Producer | Mini-series; 6 episodes. Created by Yaron Shani. World premiere Series Mania. Actor Eran Naim won Best Actor. |
| 2023 | The Return from the Other Planet | Producer | Documentary |
| 2024 | Dismissed 3 | Producer | TV series |
| 2024 | The Water Front | Producer | Documentary film. Premiered in competition at DocAviv. |
| 2025 | The World Will Tremble' | Producer |
References
[edit]- ^ An interview with Naomi Levari on Draft, pov.imv.au.dk
- ^ "נעמי לבארי". בוגרי סם שפיגל. Retrieved March 21, 2019.
- ^ "נעמי לבארי". בלאק שיפ הפקות (in Hebrew). Retrieved March 21, 2019.
- ^ Meiri, Gali (24 July 2016). "הכבשה השחורה של עולם הקולנוע הישראלי". Taasiya (in Hebrew). Retrieved 14 August 2026.
- ^ a b Sigoli, Or (6 September 2016). ""אנחנו מפיחים חיים"". Calcalist (in Hebrew). Retrieved 14 August 2026.
- ^ a b c d "Naomi Levari". Serial Eyes. Retrieved 14 August 2026.
- ^ "Preisverleihung Filmfest Hamburg 2022". FINK.HAMBURG (in German). 29 September 2022. Retrieved 14 August 2026.
- ^ a b c d e "Naomi Levari – Editorial Advisor". First Cut Lab. Retrieved 14 August 2026.
- ^ "First Cut Lab welcomes two new members in its team!". First Cut Lab. 16 November 2021. Retrieved 14 August 2026.
- ^ a b c "Naomi Levari". Berlinale Talents. Retrieved 14 August 2026.
- ^ "Mentoring Programme for Emerging Women Producers". European Women's Audiovisual Network. Retrieved 14 August 2026.
- ^ "Film School x Netflix – consulting screenplay". Łódź Film School. 25 May 2026. Retrieved 14 August 2026.
- ^ "Pop Up Series Incubator at Karlovy Vary". Tatino Films. 12 June 2025. Retrieved 14 August 2026.
- ^ "New Project to Showcase Books with Film Potential at KVIFF". Karlovy Vary International Film Festival. 20 March 2026. Retrieved 14 August 2026.
- ^ "KVIFF Industry Days Unveils 11 Directors Selected for KVIFF Central Stage and Launches Book-To-Screen at KVIFF IP Adaptation Showcase". Karlovy Vary International Film Festival. 16 June 2026. Retrieved 14 August 2026.
- ^ "Programming Team". Jewish Film Festival Berlin Brandenburg. Retrieved 14 August 2026.
- ^ "מועמדת מס' 9: נעמי לבארי". דעם (in Hebrew). Retrieved March 21, 2019.
- ^ Levari, Naomi (July 14, 2014). "A message to Gaza". Facebook. Retrieved March 21, 2019.
External links
[edit]- Naomi Levari at IMDb
- Naomi Levari at Rotten Tomatoes
- Black Sheep Productions, official website
- An Interview with Naomi Levari about "Draft"
- On Naomi Levari's "Draft"
- A partial eclipse of the son: An analysis of Naomi Levari's short film "Draft"
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