Feature film “Things unsaid” – in pre-production

Director & co-writer: Aviv Maaravi, co-writer: Mayan Rogel 

Script editor: Nadav Lapid (winner of Berlin Film Festival Golden Bear 2019)

Synopsis:
ISABEL, nearly 60-years-old, “a proud Frenchwoman”, as her husband, SASHA(72) calls her, had left her country and city, Paris, almost twenty five years ago to marry the Israeli Sasha. She built a house and raised a family with him. But something in her has always stayed foreign. She never managed to learn the local language properly, or get rid of her accent, and she was never able to make the new country her own. When her best friend from Paris, the only person she stayed in touch with all these years, arrives for a visit a few days before her and Sasha’s wedding anniversary, Isabel suddenly realizes what she gave up all these years for him; her difficult, perhaps unfaithful man, the eternal soundman that records every moment in his life. She realizes how far she drifted away from herself, and how much she misses the life she could have had; and at once she makes up her mind to do what she has wanted to do for ten years now – to leave him, to return to Paris and find out if something else/better awaits her there.

She secretly packs her suitcase and makes the required arrangements to leave in the morning. She orders a plane ticket and a taxi for the morning and when everything is finally ready for her departure the next morning and the taxi is already waiting outside and the suitcase sits by the front door, Sasha’s alarm clock goes off. It rings as it does every morning – only this time no one shuts it off.

With her heart racing, Isabel walks back up to their bedroom and finds that her greatest fear has come true – Sasha has died in his sleep. Sasha, who was always the one to navigate their life, to lead them and blaze the way, has managed at the last moment to reverse her decision, and instead of allowing her leave, has left first.

Isabel’s first impulse is to hurry out of the house, call someone, her children, her neighbor. But she quickly regains composure and realizes that this is her chance, now, when no one is answering her calls and coming to her rescue. This separation, this farewell from Sasha, she will manage her own way, by the vigor of her own will.

She locks the entire house, turns it into their private bubble, hers and his, and embarks on a journey of separation, determined to keep them both inside the bubble and the world outside of it. Although their children and grandchildren will be coming later that night for the festive wedding anniversary dinner, and despite the external world, which is constantly knocking on their doors – this is their farewell, their own private world.

What begins as a gentle and sad separation, shifts direction when Isabel enters Sasha’s study room, which was always his private space, a haven she and her kids, never set foot in. There, among dozens of recorded audiotape reels, she finds not only their shared past, the one she knew about, the one that cruelly reflects the story of their alienation, but also Sasha’s hidden life, his secrets, the words he was never able to speak to her.

These discoveries, the separation from him, the past that resurfaces from their lifeless present inside the house lead Isabel to make extraordinary choices about her life, about her separation from Sasha.

For the first time in her life, she finds a way to say to him the things unsaid.

Scene from the script

The Scene below was produced for fund raising purposes and to express Aviv’s artistic approach to the subject.

The script participated in Sam Spiegel Alumni Film Fund competition, where it was selected  to be in the top three.

Play Video
TV series “The Parliament” – in development

Director & co-writer: Aviv Maaravi

Feature film “The old smuggler” – in development

Director & writer: Aviv Maaravi

TV series “Kill + enter”  – in development

Director & co-writer: Aviv Maaravi

Feature film “Blind date”  – in development

Director & writer: Aviv Maaravi

TV series “Let’s finish with that shit”  – in development

Director & co-writer: Aviv Maaravi

Short film “Joice”​

Written & Directed: Aviv Maaravi

22 min., 16mm, color, 1998

Synopsis:
Laurence wants to buy a house for Lilach, the woman he loves, and make her dreams come true. Joice, his best friend tries to help, but ends up wrecking Laurence`s plans- with the very best intentions.

Prizes

  • Audience Prize (third prize) - Cergy-Pontoise International Short Film Festival, France, ’99.
  • Silver Prize – Festival of Nations, Ebensee, Austria `99.

Festivals

Jerusalem International Film Festival, Israel, ‘98; Munich International Film Festival of Film Schools, Germany, `98; L` Alternativa, Barcelona `98; Etiuda International Film Festival, Krakow `98; Hong Kong International Film Festival, ’99; Cergy-Pontoise International Short Film Festival, France, ’99; Surprise International Short Film festival, Taiwan,`99. Seh-Suchte International Short Film Festival, Potsdam, Germany, ’99; Ebensee Festival of Nations, Austria, ’99; Chileno International Short Film Festival, Santiago, Chile, ’99; Cinema Jove, Valencia, Spain `99; Infernale International Film Festival, Germany,’99;Corto Imola Festival, Italy `99; Golden Lion, Taipei Film festival, Taiwan,  `99; Pitigliano Jewish Film Festival, Italy, 2000.

Short film “CHESTER, JONES & I”​

Written & Directed: Aviv Maaravi
13:40 min., 16mm., color, 1997

Synopsis:
The Story of the friendship between three adolescents living on a Kibbutz in the early seventies, on the background of decline of ideals. While planning the next revolution, inspired by Che Guevara, they come to the inevitable conclusion that perhaps it’s not such a good idea to change the world.

Play Video

Prizes

  • Special Mention-Berlin International Film Festival, 1997
  • The Special Canal Plus Award - Valencia Cinema Jove Film Festival, Spain, 1997
  • The Wolgin Award for Best Short Film - The Jerusalem Film Festival, 1997
  • Festival Jury Prize - 17th International Festival of Film Schools – Munich, 1997
  • Special Mention by the Script Jury - 17th International Festival of Film Schools - Munich, 1997
  • Best film – Mallorca Mediterranean Film Festival, Spain

Festivals

2004:
Buenos Aires Student Film Festival retrospective program, Argentina 2004;
Melbourne International Film Festival retrospective program, Australia 2004;

2003:
Zlin International film festival for children and youth, Czech Republic 2003;

2002:
Reel IL – A presentation of Israeli film schools, Bonn 2002;

2000:
45th Valladolid International Film Festival, Spain.
Feile na Bealtaine, Ireland; Odense International Film Festival, Denmark; Sienna International Short Film Festival, Italy; Mallorca Mediterranean Film Festival, Spain; Israeli Cinema Week in Heidleberg, Germany.

1999:
Sixth Annual Open Russian Contest of Student Films and Debuts, Moscow; Ludwigsburg International Film Festival, Germany; Montevideo International Film Festival, Uruguay; Seol International Student Film Festival, Korea; Ebensee Festival of Nations, Austria; Mito Film Festival, Mito Museum of Art, Japan; Reel Affirmations, Washington DC`s International Gay & Lesbian Film Festival `99.
44th Murphy`s Cork Film Festival, Cork City, Ireland (`99);
Havana International Festival of New Latin Cinema, Cuba.

1998:
Flickerfest ’98, Sydney, Ausralia; Bombay Intl. Film Festival, India, Singapore Film Festival; VGIK, Moscow; Larissa Short Film Festival, Greece; BUFF, Malmo Film Festival, Sweden; Tampere Film Festival, Finland; Stockholm Jewish Film Festival; Spoleto Film Festival, Italy; Lodz, Poland; Toronto Jewish Film Festival, Canada;  Augsburg, Germany; Boston Jewish Film Festival, USA; Israeli Cinema Week, Rio de Janeiro, Brasil; Chicago International Film Festival, USA; Eisensten Short Film Festival, Wilhelmshaven, Germany; Festival International Du Film De Poitiers, France.

1997:
Berlin International Film Festival, Germany; Mons International Short Film Festival, Belgium; Dresden International Short Film Festival, Germany; Potsdam International film Festival, Germany; Toronto Worldwide Film Festival, Canada; London Jewish Film Festival; Brisbane Short Film Festival, Australia; Karlovy Vary Film Festival, Czech Republic; Montreal Short Film Festival, Canada; Valencia Jove Film Festival, Spain; Leipzig Short Film Festival, Germany; Copenhagen Short Film Festival, Denmark; Munich Student Film Festival; The Jerusalem Film Festival; Figueira da Foz Film Festival, Portugal; Sao Paulo Short Film Festival, Brasil; L’Alternativa Film Festival, Barcelona; Mexico City Film Festival; Mannheim Film Festival, Germany; Israfest Los Angeles-New York; Kiev Film Festival-Molodist, Ukraine; Mediaschool ’97 Festival, Lodz, Poland; Montpellier Film Festival, France.