Naomi Levari


Naomi Levari is a German-American-Israeli film producer, story editor and peace activist.

Early life and education

In 2004, Levari graduated from the Sam Spiegel School of Film and Television with highest honors. During her studies, she co-produced Oneg Shabat, a short film that went on to win multiple awards, and produced the documentary film Blue White Collar Criminal, the first student film to be released commercially in the school's history. Her graduation film, Draft, was screened at more than forty international film festivals, and won four awards and two special mentions. The film was sold to broadcast companies around the world, has been included in school curricula, and was selected as one of the best films to come out of 'Sam Spiegel' by an international jury. Levari won multiple awards and scholarships, and grants from the Television Authority and the Yehoshua Rabinowitz Foundation.
After the success of her student film Draft, Levari was invited to conduct a master class at Aarhus University in Denmark.

Activism

Levari, a conscientious objector, refused compulsory military service in Israel in protest against Israeli policies and the occupation.
In 2013, Levari ran for parliament on the Da'am party list, headed by Asma Agbarieh Zahalka, a Jewish-Arab socialist party advocating workers’ rights and equality, but the party did not get the necessary number of votes to enter parliament.
During the Israel–Gaza conflict in 2014, Levari released a video message titled A Message to Gaza. The video went viral on social media and was covered in Israeli and international press. Levari refused to give interviews to the media on this matter, excluding two underground blogs in Iran and Turkey.
Following the Israeli military actions in Gaza, months after the October 7th massacre, Levari declared that Israel is committing Genocide and announced that she had suspended her cinematic activities in Israel.

Career

In 2005, Levari began her collaboration with Saar Yogev during the Jerusalem Film Festival, and in 2008, the two began producing together. In 2010, they founded Black Sheep Productions.
In 2011, she was selected to participate in the Rotterdam International Film Festival's Rotterdam Lab, a workshop for the most promising emerging producers. In 2013, Levari was invited by the French foundation CNC to represent them in the producers' track at the Cannes Film Festival. That same year, she was a jury member for the documentary film competition at the Jerusalem Film Festival. In 2014 she was a member of the executive board of the Israeli Academy of Film and Television. In 2014 and 2015, she was a lector for the Israel Film Fund and for the International Film Lab in Jerusalem. In 2015 she was also on the jury for the Utopia Film Festival. In 2016, at the Cannes Film Festival, she was selected as a Notable Producer at the Holland Film Meetings, where she and director Yaron Shani presented one of Black Sheep's flagship projects, Love Trilogy.
In 2018, Levari was one of the founders of the German production company Electric Sheep GmbH, with Saar Yogev and Michael Reuter.
Levari has worked as a guest lecturer and advisor at Beit Berl College, Sapir Academic College, Columbia University, and the Sam Spiegel Film School. In 2017, Black Sheep Productions was spotlighted, along with four other production companies, by the Berlinale co-production market at the Berlin International Film Festival.
She is a sought-after mentor and script advisor in various labs and platforms, including Berlinale Talents, Lodz Film School, TFL, HFM, initiatives by Tatino films such as First Cut Lab, Full Circle Lab, Netflix Grow Creative, Canal+ Poland, Pop-up Series Lab, and more.
Since 2021, Levari has been a member of the program collective at the Jewish Film Festival Berlin Brandenburg.